


Walk on Water

by FandomDojo



Series: Atlantean Lena AU [1]
Category: Aquaman (2018), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Atlantean Lena Luthor, Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Blood Bending, F/F, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jealous Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor-centric, Lesbian Lena Luthor, Lillian tries to be a good mom, Mechanic Lena Luthor, Meta-human Lena Luthor, No Lena Luthor/James "Jimmy" Olson, Queen Atlanna is Lena Luthor's Mother, Slow Burn, Waterbending & Waterbenders, relationships will happen in part 2, tags will be added as the story progresses, they will both be endgame, waterbender Lena Luthor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2019-10-16 01:45:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 67,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17540330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomDojo/pseuds/FandomDojo
Summary: During a brief adventure with Supergirl and The Flash, Lena discovers a shocking revelation about herself that leaves her quite lost, confused and upset. she struggles with living with what she’d learned and not doing anything about it, until a decision made by a caring friend changes Lena’s life forever. Now that Lena knows about her true heritage, would the change be for better or for worse?Story Cover: https://pin.it/qg56vdyt3tb4vu





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, I've wanted to write this story for quite a while now and i finally am writing it.  
> it'll be centered around Lena, i haven't yet decided on any endgame ships so i'll see how it goes.  
> enjoy for now :).  
> Also, it disappoints me that Ao3 doesn't do covers for stories since i have a cool cover for this one.

The night was quiet, sky lit with scattered stars and the only sound that could be heard was the revving of an engine and the quiet tunes of a radio. Kara leaned back in the passenger seat and stared at her sister to her left, the girls were called by their mother to spend a week at their childhood home and neither of them could say no to the woman, no matter how busy their lives got.

Alex had been driving ever since they left National City and has been ignoring Kara's pout because the car was newly fixed, and she didn't trust the blonde's driving.

"Alex, it's been hours, you're tired and I'm bored." Kara stated. "would you please just let me drive for an hour or two?" she pleaded.

"you're out of your mind if you think I'd let you drive after you drove into that tree last time we were going to Midvale" Alex snorted.

"it wasn't my fault!" Kara protested. "that squirrel was in the way!"

"that's why there's a thing called brakes and a horn, Kara"

"I panicked!"

"I can't afford you panicking again! Your panic costs me money."

"ugh fine!" Kara huffed and crossed her arms, leaning into the door and staring out the window.

Alex kept driving, adjusting herself in her seat and yawning. Thankfully, Kara didn't make a fuss this time. She could feel her eyes dropping and she blinked it away. Her attention faltered for a minute and she didn't notice a few scattered pieces of concrete and rocks ahead and drove over them instead of avoiding them.

The car jolted and shook, making Kara jump in her seat and Alex's eyes widen, before they heard two pops in the back of the car and some sharp hisses under the hood before steam came out. Alex hurriedly stopped the car off the road and took off her seatbelt.

Kara did the same and they both stepped out of the car to look over the damage. Two flat tires and something disconnected from the engine.

"great, now we're stuck here" Alex scowled. "there's no auto shops around and even if there was, they'd be closed"

"I could just fly us over to Eliza's house" Kara suggested.

"no way. There's people around and you don't even have your suit"

"but it's late, no one will even see us"

"no, Kara" Alex said sternly, running a hand through her hair.

"well what do you suggest?!" Kara raised an eyebrow "stay here till an auto shop opens?"

"No." Alex deadpanned. "we could fix the car ourselves"

"with what?" Kara snorted. "even of we fixed the engine, we have two flat tires and we only have one spare"

"well what do you suggest?!"

"we could call someone?" Kara suggested, pulling her phone out.

"who would even be awake at-" Alex paused to glance at her wristwatch. "twelve AM?"

Kara lifted her pointer finger in a 'just a minute'. Alex saw a glimpse of the contact and saw 'Lena'.

"you're calling Lena Luthor?" Alex asked, surprised. "what would she even do?"

"she's a rich boss, she could send a mechanic over" Kara shrugged before smiling brightly at the confused voice on the line.

"hello? Kara, it's the middle of the night, is something wrong?"

"hi Lena, I know it's late, but Alex and I are kind of stuck and we need your help" Kara sheepishly said, glancing at her sister, who was still not 100% sure about asking a Luthor for help.

"where are you and what do you need?"

"well, Alex ran over some stuff on the road and now our car has two flat tires and the engine has smoke coming out of it. There's no auto shops around, we were wondering if you could send someone over?"

"send me a picture of the tires and I'll deal with it" she could hear shuffling in the background, meaning Lena was already getting ready to send help. Kara smiled fondly. Lena was such a great friend. "and your location please"

"okay, I'll send them right now" Kara grinned at her sister who just shrugged back at her, she was too tired to try finding another solution.

"great. Hang on for a little, help is on the way"

"thank you so much, Lena. I'm sorry for bothering you at such a late hour" Kara apologized.

"you're never a bother, Kara"

"still, thanks, I appreciate it" Kara bit her lip and looked down with a smile. Before saying goodbye and hanging up. "help is on the way" she announced.

"thank god, I'm too tired for this." Alex groaned and made her way to the backseats to lay down. "wake me up when they arrive"

"will do"

…

An hour later, Kara was playing a game on her phone while she waited, Alex was still sleeping when a loud engine made them both jump in surprise. Alex's hand immediately went to the gun in her glove box and Kara yelped, accidentally dropping her phone.

They squinted at the bright light shining behind the car and staggered outside to meet their 'savior'.

Someone on a motorcycle pulled up next to their car, they had two tires connected to each side of the bike and a backpack on their shoulders. The rider pulled off their helmet and dark hair fell out, Lena shook her head and smiled at the two sisters. Both gaped and openly stared.

Lena swung her legs off the bike and walked towards the two, she was wearing a leather jacket, black skinny jeans and combat boots. Kara was sure Alex was having a gay panic at the sight and she couldn't deny that she felt something flutter in her stomach too, though Alex might be more into the bike Lena was riding.

"help has arrived" Lena smirked and placed her helmet under her arm.

"Oh- Lena! I didn't think you'd be the one to come!" Kara stammered as she met the girl with a tight hug.

Lena hugged back with a grin. "who else did you expect?"

"I don't know, a random guy that works for you?" Kara shrugged.

"I'm not sending anyone to do something that I could easily do" Lena laughed.

"wait you can fix cars?!" Alex whipped her face to look at Lena with a surprised expression.

"of course? I am a scientist and an engineer?" Lena's head tilted to the side adorably. "and a business woman of course"

"oh." Kara could see that Alex's cheeks are noticeably pink. "well uh- you have a n-nice bike"

"thanks, I made it" Lena said absentmindedly as she walked to the car and inspecting the damage.

"wow, now I'm impressed" Kara smirked as she stood next to Lena to show her under the hood.

"I'm flattered" Lena chuckled as she bent over to look at the engine. She handed Kara a flashlight. "can you shine this light for me?" she didn't notice two sets of eyes on her, specifically, her ass.

"of course!" Kara squeaked and clumsily fiddled with it before finally finding the switch.

Lena took off her backpack and retrieved some tools and gestured to Alex, who was admiring -more like drooling over- the bike, to come over and hold the tools.

"thankfully, nothing serious has happened. A few cables have disconnected, did you drive fast over a bumpy road?" Lena asked Alex as she started tinkering around, nodding to herself when she received a 'yes' in reply. "I'll just connect them back in place and replace the tires with the ones I've brought, then you'll be good to go"

"oh." The sisters tried not to let their disappointment show. Their eyes met and a silent conversation was held before Lena announced that she was done and was going to check on the tires.

Lena laid her backpack on the floor and pulled a jack and a lug wrench, she turned to the Danvers sisters. "Alex, would you mind if you stepped on this so the car would lift while I get the tires?"

"of course not!" Alex was being unusually giddy all of a sudden. Kara was about to argue that she was stronger and could do it faster but held her tongue.

Fifteen minutes later, the car was ready to go again, and Lena was packing her tools and placed the damaged tires into the trunk of the car, explaining that since it's damaged at the bottom and not the sides, it could easily be fixed, and it wouldn't cost a lot of money.

"so, you guys are ready to go, have a safe drive okay?" she smiled sweetly. "If you have any troubles again, don't hesitate to call, Kara"

"thank you so much, Lena." Kara hugged her friend tightly, and a bit possessively, before leaning back and kissing her cheek. "we don't know what we would've done without you"

"well, I'm always happy to help" Lena blushed with a nervous smile.

"it's late though, why don't you come with us? It's a long way back to National City" Kara suggested.

"yeah, mom wouldn't mind" Alex added.

"oh, I wouldn't want to intrude" Lena shook her head.

"nonsense! Eliza wanted to meet you for a while now, actually"

"wha- what? Why?" Lena was suddenly nervous.

"apparently, she's a fan of your work and achievements" Alex responded.

"well, it is late" Lena relented, putting her backpack on.

"yes, exactly" Alex nodded.

"so, lead the way?" Lena smiled. Everyone shuffled to their vehicles when Lena had an idea. "actually, Alex, I saw you looking at the bike earlier" Lena said.

"well yeah, it's a sweet ride" Alex admitted, looking at it longingly.

"why don't you drive it to your mother's house and Kara, and I follow?" Lena jiggled the keys in her hand with a wink.

Alex gasped, looking between the Bike and Lena, to make sure she wasn't being teased. When Lena hadn't pulled the keys away, she stepped forward and looked into her eyes seriously. "I could kiss you right now"

Lena blushed and laughed nervously. "I don't think that would be appropriate"

"thank you so much! I seriously owe you one"

"no problem" Lena shrugged and handed Alex the keys and helmet. "drive safe, and please don't crash my bike" she walked to the car and smiled at Kara, who had a blank expression on her face after seeing the scene. "I hope it's okay that you're stuck with me?"

"of course! I'd love to be stuck with you- wait no, not stuck! I meant being with you, not being with you, as in WITH you- I me-meant being around you!" Kara blurted out.

"Kara" Lena laughed. "relax, I know what you meant"

Kara visibly relaxed and a smile overtook her face. "hey, are you two done?! Can we go?" they heard Alex yell, she had already sat herself on the bike and had the helmet on. Her hand on the key, she excitedly turned it on, and squealed when she heard the engine roar.

"I think you just made her day." Kara commented as they both sat in the car, Kara in the driver's seat. "I haven't seen her this happy ever since Maggie"

"the cop who arrested me?" Lena asked.

"yes" Kara chuckled, watching her sister drive off. "don't take it personally though, she was just doing her job" she started the car and drove.

"I didn't" Lena shrugged and placed her bag in her lap before leaning back on the seat. "I know I'm not someone anyone would trust easily"

"Alex seemed to change her mind pretty easily"

"that's because I bribed her" Lena snorted.

"you didn't have to do that for her you know"

"I know." Lena nodded. "but you're my best friend, and your sister means a lot to you, so I want her to like me." She looked at Kara. "I also missed you, so I wanted some time for us before we got there"

"I missed you too!" Kara smiled. "I'm sorry we haven't seen each other much these few weeks, work has been crazy lately"

"yeah same here, we're working on a new project at Lcorp with a new company and it's great!" Lena smiled as she started talking about the deal she had made, the business partner being Wayne Enterprises, under Bruce Wayne, who according to Lena, was an old friend of hers.

"-so, he and his cousin are coming to Lcorp this week, tomorrow I think, so we'd discuss the prototype."

Kara wasn't really paying attention to what Lena was saying, she just enjoyed hearing her voice. But she didn't want her to think she was uninterested, so she asked questions and dropping a "hmm" or "oh?" here and there.

"we're here" Kara announced as she pulled up in the driveway. Alex was outside, still on the bike, and talking to her mother with a big smile.

"is that your mother?" Lena asked, suddenly nervous.

"my adoptive mother, yes" Kara nodded and signaled for Lena to follow her out.

The women hugged and shared greetings, Eliza asking how her daughters been teasingly joking around with them. Lena stood to the side and watched, a strange feeling settling in her stomach at the sight. Her and Lillian were never like that, and she couldn't remember if her birth mother was warm and comforting as Eliza. She looked down at her feet waiting for the Danvers to finish their reunion.

"so, girls, aren't you introducing me to your friend here?" Eliza asked.

"Eliza, this is Lena. she came to help us with the car when it broke down in the middle of the road, and we invited her to come along instead of driving all the was back to national city" Kara grabbed Lena's hand and pulled her closer.

Lena wiped her sweaty palm on her pants before offering a handshake to the woman. "I'm Lena Luthor, ma'am. Nice to meet you" she said politely. But her hand was brushed off and was instead pulled into a hug. "none of that ma'am nonsense, you can call me Eliza."

"o-oh" Kara and Alex laughed at Lena's surprised face and small blush. "I-I see." Her hands were in the air, just uncomfortably waiting for Eliza to let her go.

"come inside girls, it's cold out here." Eliza finally pulled back. "I'm sure you're all tired."

Alex pouted, she wanted to enjoy the bike a bit more. Lena chuckled. "I'll let you take it for a ride again if you want. Just not so late"

"alright" Alex reluctantly passed the keys and helmet back to Lena.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be the continuation of chapter one before i split them.  
> enjoy.

The Danvers home was simple but endearing, Lena looked around curiously. The Luthor house was not like this, it was fancy and was more for show rather than comfort. It was cold and didn't have any personality. The Danvers' home however, had plenty of pictures on the walls, was warm, inviting and cozy, she vaguely remembered seeing a swing outside. There was blankets and pillows on the couch, hot chocolate and cookies already waiting at the table, and Lena could see some drawings hung up on the fridge. 'so, this is what a normal house looks like' she thought to herself. Lena loved the country side, she remembers faded memories of similar scenery when she was a child and briefly reminisced about the life she had before she was taken by the Luthors.

"I made hot chocolate and cookies for you girls before going to bed" Eliza brought the tray in, Lena saw four mugs and her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Alex came before you two with enough time for me to make an extra mug" she explained.

"you sat outside until we came?" Kara teased her sister.

"hey, I was going to take as much time as I could with that beauty outside" Alex defended. "do you know how long I wanted to ride a bike?"

"no and I don't care" Kara snorted and took a mug with a handful of cookies.

"leave some for us, you bottomless pit" Alex complained, grabbing her own mug.

Kara stuck her tongue out at her sister, Lena watched with an amused smile. Lex used to playfully tease her like that.

"don't you like hot chocolate, Lena?" Eliza asked when the girl didn't make an attempt to grab a mug.

"oh uh, I never tried it, so I don't know" she smiled with an embarrassed blush.

"what?!" Kara's mouth opened in shock as did Alex's and Eliza's.

"mother never allowed us to have sweets and unhealthy food" Lena shrugged.

"oh, you poor child!" Kara dramatically cried. She shoved a mug in her hands. "that evil woman can't keep this heavenly treat from you at our house!"

Lena accepted the drink with polite 'thank you', she felt a bit nervous under the gaze of the three women but took a sip anyway. Her eyes widened at the delicious taste. "this is amazing!"

"told you so" Kara smirked smugly.

"now girls, finish your treats and straight to bed." Eliza said sternly. "Lena, we have a spare room you can use, Kara will show you where it is" she shooed them off.

Lena was led upstairs to the bathroom first, given a pair of pajamas and then led to the spare room. Kara stood with her in the room, apologizing if she and her family came on too strong.

"not at all, Kara. your family and your home are lovely" Lena said sincerely.

"well, I'll leave you to get ready for bed and rest. If you need anything, Alex and I are just across the hall" Kara pointed at the door with a smile before stepping out of the room. "goodnight, Lena"

"goodnight, Kara"

…

The next morning, Lena was the first to be awake, she had set an alarm for 6am. She sat in the bed and looked through the e-mails Jess had sent her, and she knew she'd have to leave soon if she wanted to catch up to work. She sighed and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and fix her hair, her makeup was all washed off last night, but she couldn't exactly do anything about it since she hadn't brought any with her. She looked at her face in the mirror as she brushed her hair with fingers, gently patting it down to smooth it. Her face was so pale and lifeless without her mask, her eyes contrasted heavily with her skin and hair. She could see the small bags under her eyes, and she frowned. Mother always complained that she was too pale and insisted Lena uses makeup at a young age.

She splashed some cold water in her face and wiped it away before making her way to the door, and down the stairs. She thought it would be rude of her to just leave and she contemplated leaving a note- "now where are you going so early?"

Lena turned around to see Eliza coming down the stairs.

"I need to go soon If I want to catch up to work" Lena explained.

"and you're going to drive all that way without breakfast?"

"well yeah…"

"oh no, you will not" Eliza shook her head. "come, I'll make something for you before you leave"

"no seriously, it's okay. You don't need to do that"

"I want to. Now come and eat so you don't pass out while you drive that death trap"

Lena smiled and relented, following the older woman into the kitchen. She sat down and took out her phone to e-mail Jess that she'll be coming to work late, so she could move all her meetings until later. Not even five minutes later, she could hear Alex yelling at Kara for stealing the bathroom and Kara laughing at her. Both came down just as Eliza finished a plate.

"I hope you don't mind pancakes, Lena. they're a must in this house and Kara will probably have another crisis if she knew you never tried it"

"anything's fine and, I won't tell her then" Lena smiled as she picked up a fork, greeting the sisters as they joined her at the table.

"why doesn't your pancakes have syrup on them, Lena" Kara's eyes narrowed, and Lena's fork stopped inches from her mouth.

"uh, I like it like this"

"did Lillian not feed you pancakes too?" Kara frowned.

"leave her alone, Kara. not everyone likes pancakes on their syrup like you" Eliza placed a plate in front of each of her daughters. Alex snorted and started eating.

The meal was quiet, Lena tried not to inhale her pancakes after taking her first bite. She was trying hard to seem normal and missed the glances she was receiving. She could tell the silence was killing Kara though, by the strange face she was pulling.

"you look really pretty without makeup, Lena" Kara blurted out. "I -I mean, you always look pretty but you look especially pretty in the morning!"

"thanks" Lena cursed her impossibly pale skin and the way it turns pink at the slightest compliment.

"Kara's right, your natural face looks so young and soft…" Alex trailed off.

Eliza hummed as she listened to her daughters silently compete for the young Luthor's attention.

"it's sometimes hard to remember that you're only 26" Alex continued.

Eliza saw that Lena was getting sort of overwhelmed at the attention and decided to shift it to something else.

"so, Lena, how's running a very successful multibillion-dollar company like?"

"well, it was overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of things, it's not too bad. Exhausting, but not bad" Lena answered.

"I see. I hear that you're trying to steer Lcorp into the modern medicine and tech field?"

"oh yes! I have been contacting many corporations to discuss some future arrangements, and there also has been several generous donations to children's hospital, we can now afford to make the place a bit inviting, install new and much needed tech, give out medication for free and purchase holiday gifts!" Lena smiled as she spoke fondly of her proudest achievement. She might have had a bad childhood but that didn't mean she would let others have the same if she could do something about it.

"that sounds amazing, Lena" Eliza smiled in awe, she could see why her daughters were fond of this woman. "I have no doubt that you will able to turn Lcorp into a force for good"

"thank you, Eliza. It really means a lot to hear you say that" Lena said, her eyes flickering to the two women who were intently watching the interaction. "Kara tells me you are a doctor?"

"I was a doctor. I've been retired for a few years now"

"oh." Lena showed a small hint of disappointment. "well, if you'd be willing, we could use some help at the hospital or at the Lcorp labs. I'd love to have a brilliant woman like you working with me to make Lcorp better"

"hmm. Resorting to flattery huh?" Eliza chuckled at Lena's panicked face and shook her head. "I'm only joking, dear. Retirement is great and all, but it does get boring sometimes, I might take you up on that offer sometimes"

"we'd love to have you if you're willing" Lena couldn't stop the smile on her face. She checked her phone for the time, she might be late if she stayed any longer. "I think I should head out now, I don't want to overstay my welcome"

"nonsense, dear. But we understand. you're a busy woman." Eliza nodded. "please drive safely"

"I will, and thank you for the meal, Eliza, it was great" Lena smiled and stood up. "I'm sorry to leave so suddenly but Jess will kill me if I come in to work later than ten am"

"it was no trouble at all, you're always welcome here, Lena" Eliza smiled gently.

"I'll walk you out!" Kara jumped from her seat to follow Lena outside. "so, I'll see you next week?" she asked shyly at the door.

"yes of course, we can plan a lunch date once you're back in national city" Lena swung her leg over her bike and held the helmet in her lap.

"I'd love that." Kara bit her lip. "text me once you've arrived so I know you're safe?"

"of course,"

Kara leaned down to hug her best friend before she left and watched her drive off. The only thought in her mind was 'when did Lena get this hot?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the other chapters will hopefully be up soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after this chapter, the uploads will be weekly. although i'll try to release chapters when i can.
> 
> enjoy.

Lena managed to reach National City around nine am, she had stopped by her apartment for a quick shower and a change of clothes, to apply fresh makeup and drown herself in coffee before work. She had opted to simply drive to work instead of calling her driver to save herself the fifteen minutes she'd have to wait.

Standing in the elevator of her apartment building and looking at the series of texts Jess had sent her, Lena sighed, she flicked through today's schedule and mentally prepared herself for another boring meeting the moment she steps inside her company. The elevator door dinged and opened at the basement of the building where Lena's personal garage was.

The building had a parking lot outside and at the bottom floor, but Lena preferred her privacy, and it was a great way to avoid the paparazzi and she could store all the cars, bikes and vehicles she used to work on back at the Luthor Mansion. They meant a lot to her. She had taken a liking to cars at a young age, Father would always let her tinker with them after her private classes and staying in the garage was a great way to avoid Lillian. Her love for inventing came soon after she managed to scrap together a simple device from the spare parts lying around.

Lena strode forward and scanned the cars in front of her, picking out a shiny, black Ford GT and waving at a security guard to bring the keys to her. She took a few minutes to fumble with her phone and send a text to Kara, telling her she was safely back in National City. she got in the car, turned it on and drove off to Lcorp. She was barely on time for the first meeting but whatever, she was the boss, she could do what she wants.

…

Walking in the doors of Lcorp confidently, Lena was greeted by her assistant Jess, who stood up from her desk and walked next to Lena as she made her way into her office.

"You have the first meeting of the day in ten minutes with Mr. Wayne to discuss your new prototype and after that at 12 there will be a board meeting discussing the-" Lena listened patiently as she shuffled some papers around on her desk, she hummed thoughtfully and waited until Jess was done.

"Thank you, Jess, I know it was so sudden of me to ask you to move all my meetings back when they had been set for over a week" Lena smiled apologetically.

"It was no trouble at all, miss Luthor" Jess shook her head. "It was a bit difficult to convince Mr. Wayne to wait a couple of hours but he is not an unreasonable man. You shouldn't leave him waiting any more though"

"Yes of course, I'll going right now" Lena gathered the papers she had been looking at and stood up to start her meeting.

…

"Lena, so good to see you again!" Bruce greeted as he and Kate entered the room. "It's been a while"

Bruce was a very old friend of Lena's, he was really Lex's friend but the two were introduced after knowing that Lena would also take part in running LuthorCorp once she finished college. having good connections was a smart move for the future, Lillian had said. And Luthors were always three steps ahead. They had visited the Wayne Manor many times as children and the same was for Bruce at the Luthor Mansion, Lena was often not included on the boy's shenanigans as she was, first, a girl. And second, ten years younger than the two.

But Lex had loved his sister too much to leave her behind with their mother, so he often took her along when he knew that what they were doing was not business related. At first, Bruce was wary, and a bit uncomfortable that a child was coming along with them. But he had warmed up to her pretty quickly and had asked her if she wanted to meet his younger cousin, Kate.

Lena was ecstatic to meet the girl. Her and Kate had become close friends. very close 'friends'. By the time the two had met, they were already teenagers and well, they were two very inexperienced, very gay girls. They often were up to no good, in each other's rooms.

"It has been indeed, Bruce, I was afraid that you forgot about little old Lena" she laughed as they exchanged a brief friendly hug.

"I would never" he replied charmingly.

"What about me, Luthor? Don't I get a hug?" Kate asked with a teasing smirk and Lena turned back to her, mirroring her expression.

"No. only Bruce."

"Bitch." Kate deadpanned. Kicking off the table she was leaning on and throwing her arms around Lena. "Come here!"

The two hugged for a few minutes before Lena pulled back and looked Kate in the eyes. "Okay that's enough from you" she caught the hand that settled on her ass and pulled it away by the wrist.

"Oh, come on, Lee" Kate playfully said.

"No. we have things to discuss" Lena pulled away and turned her attention to Bruce, who was simply watching the two in amusement. "Shall we?"

"Yes. Before Kate decides she no longer feels like it" he and Lena chuckled at Kate's offended look.

…

Lena's week afterwards was not really eventful, other than staying up late to go over the new batch of paperwork Jess seems to take out of nowhere, the board members getting on her nerves in each meeting, meeting with other CEO's and her new startup experiments down at the labs. It was just like any other week Lena went through.

Other than having Kara around of course. Lena had gotten used to the Blonde's constant presence that having her gone for a week was making her miss her friend. They texted of course, called each other late at night too, often with Kara telling Lena to go home and rest or to check if the young CEO had been skipping meals. Kara even threatened to make Jess drag her away from work -which Lena knew her secretary would absolutely do- if she didn't take care of herself.

So, Lena relented. Her daily schedule was noticeably less packed afterwards and she could actually go home early sometimes. Kara was feeling proud of herself for that.

It was Friday night and the Danvers were supposed to come back to national city in a couple of hours, Kara had called and asked if they could have dinner because a week without their usual lunch dates was too long and Lena agreed.

They had met up at Kara's favorite restaurant, Noonan's. Lena sat across from Kara as the blonde spoke of the time she spent with her family at Midvale after Lena left. As usual, Lena was impressed with the amount of food her friend could consume. She hade two appetizers, two main dishes and two slices of cake afterwards, not to mention some servings of her beloved pot stickers. While Lena had a serving of chicken noodles, per Kara's request that she doesn't eat a salad for dinner.

"I still don't understand how you can manage to eat that much and still not gain any weight" Lena commented.

"O-Oh you know, fast metabolism" Kara nervously replied.

"Mhmm. I call bullshit"

"I also work out a lot" Kara awkwardly adjusted her glasses.

"Oh really? It's been a while since I worked out, maybe we should meet up at a gym next time" Lena suggested not catching the deep frown on the blonde's face. Kara was not thrilled to be working out.

"Yeah sure, we could totally do that" Kara replied with a grimace.

"Great, I'll text you later so we could agree on a day"

"Can't wait" Kara forced a smile.

…

The gym was a nightmare. Kara was clumsy with all the equipment, acted as if she had never used something like this before, which to be fair, she didn't. she even broke some parts here and there but thankfully no one noticed. And to make it worse, Kryptonians don't sweat, so that was awkward to play off to Lena, who had a thin layer of sweat on her body that made her workout clothes stick to her body. Kara had to force her gaze away way too many times, she was sure Lena had noticed by now. Kara wasn't subtle at all.

They were on the exercise bikes, casually talking when Kara's DEO phone buzzed. The blonde had to fake cramps to get away and answer. missing the way Lena's eyes wandered over her ass.

Kara stepped into the bathroom in a hurry, scanning the stalls with her x-ray vision before locking the door and answering the call. "Supergirl here"

"Supergirl, this is J'onn, The Flash is here at the DEO and is asking for you"

"Barry is here?!" a smile took over Kara's face. "I'll be there soon" she hung up and instantly felt guilty as she was about to bail on Lena for the DEO once again. She sighed, unlocking the door and walking back to Lena.

She found the brunette still at her bike but instead of working out, she was having a conversation with some girl who was leaning over the bike, resting her arms on the grips of the machine. Kara frowned.

"Lena!" Kara called as she made her way over. The girl cast a sideway glance at Kara before smiling at Lena once more and saying a quick thanks and a goodbye.

"What was that about?" Kara's eyes followed the girl as she giddily walked away with her phone in her hands. Did Lena give this random hoe her number?

"I'm not sure, really. She came up to me asking for a picture" Lena shrugged and stepped off the machine to stand next to Kara. "I said okay because I didn't think it was a big deal"

Kara's frown deepened.

"I uh, I think I'm done here for the day. Do you want to leave, or will you stay for a bit longer?" Kara spoke.

Lena checked her wristwatch and nodded. "Yeah I'll be leaving too, I'll just take a shower first"

"Okay. Text me when you get home?" Kara asked.

"I will"

Kara hugged her best friend and kissed her cheek before leaving. Sneaking behind the building to put on her Super Suit and flying to the DEO in under a minute. Walking into the building and immediately heading for her speedy friend and grabbing him in a hug. "Barry!"

"Kara!"

"Winn…" a sarcastic mutter was heard behind them and Kara stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, what's up? Why are you here on our earth?" Kara asked curiously.

"We need your help back home, there's Daxamites everywhere and they're trying to invade earth!" Barry explained. "Didn't you have a Daxamite invasion here before too?"

"We did. But we didn't do it on our own" Kara frowned. "Lena was the one who made a device that forced the Daxamites to leave"

"Great!" Barry grinned. "Can we just borrow that then?"

"We'd give it to you if we had it, Barry" Alex started. "But Lena is the one who has it"

"Can't you just ask her to lend it to me?" he asked.

"Well…" Kara looked down. "Her and I aren't on such great terms at the moment, we don't know if she'd cooperate so easily"

"But you keep talking so highly of her. Why wouldn't she help you?" Barry was confused. "Aren't you friends?"

"Lena and Kara are friends" Kara explained. "Lena and Supergirl are not"

"Ooh, that sucks"

"Yeah"

"I could talk to her then" he suggested. "I'm sure I could convince her to help"

"Lena is a good person, she'll definitely help" Kara confirmed. "But I'm not sure how cooperative she'll be since she doesn't know you"

"Only one way to find out"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked this chapter. the story will start to take off in the next chapter, hopefully next week or sooner.
> 
> tell me your thoughts and if you have any suggestions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I said i was going to do weekly updates but i was excited and this chapter was just waiting in my word document to be uploaded. the story starts to make a bit of sense now, rather than the random things I've been writing, hopefully you'll like it, even though i will keep doing random normal scenes just to keep the story from getting too intense too fast.
> 
> also, i've added a link to a picture on pinterest, i'm using it as a cover for the story on Fanfiction.net and thought you might want to see it too. it's in the summary but i'll put it here in this note too.
> 
> https://pin.it/puokwb4xhnkorh
> 
> enjoy :)

Lena was typing away on her desk when she heard the familiar flutter of a cape and gentle thud of boots on her balcony. She tensed and sat rigidly in her seat, waiting for Supergirl to maker her presence known. A few taps on the glass came only seconds later. Lena pretended not to notice.

There was a pause before knocks were rapped against the doors, Lena sighed. She spun her chair to face the hero who was waiting to be invited in. their eyes met, Lena rolled hers and gestured for the blonde to come in.

"Supergirl," Lena started. "Surprising to see you here again"

"Miss Luthor" Supergirl greeted. "I'm sorry to drop in unannounced"

Lena didn't offer a reply, just kept staring and waiting for further explanation. Kara took a short breath before continuing. "A friend of mine is in trouble and needs your help"

"Bold of you to assume you're welcome to ask for my help after what you said to me last time I tried to help"

Kara flinched at the cold tone. "I know. But you're the only one who can help him, Lena-"

"you don't get to call me Lena, Supergirl"

"Y-You're the only one who can help him, Miss Luthor" Supergirl's shoulders dropped. "His entire world is in danger"

"And where is that friend of yours?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't he know that it's polite to ask for help yourself instead of sending someone?"

In a flash, the balcony doors opened and closed, there was a gust of wind that scattered some papers off Lena's desk. A man in a red jumpsuit and mask stood next to Supergirl.

"I'm The Flash, pleasure to meet you, Miss Luthor"

Lena took a moment to compose herself and pick up her fallen documents before replying to the duo. "And what you need from me, Flash?"

"I heard that you have a device that could get rid of Daxamites?" The Flash asked.

"You heard right"

"I was wondering if I could borrow it?"

"Absolutely not"

Supergirl and the Flash's jaws dropped at the refusal and gave each other side glances.

"Please, Miss Luthor, my Earth is being invaded by Daxamites and we don't know how to stop them" Barry pleaded softly.

"What did you mean by, your earth?" Lena leaned forward on her desk.

"I'm from a different earth, we call it the multiverse. There are-" Barry started to explain but Lena put her hand up to stop him.

"that's quite enough" Lena started. "I'm very well informed about the multiverse"

The Flash stayed quiet waiting for her to continue.

"I can't lend you my tech" Lena repeated. "I cannot trust you with it and you simply wouldn't know how to operate it." The CEO leaned back on her chair. "But I can come with you to do it for you"

"That's a great idea!" "Absolutely not!"

Supergirl fumed and crossed her arms, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous for you to go, Miss Luthor. I can't allow it"

"You seem to be forgetting that I don't take orders from you, Supergirl" Lena challenged. "You have no authority over me"

Barry anxiously looked at the stare off between the two women in the office. "Supergirl, I need her help. The least we could do is agree to her terms"

"It's too dangerous for her to go" Supergirl frowned deeper. She knew Lena was being difficult because she simply wanted to spite her. But Kara wouldn't allow her friend to get hurt.

"You've came to me at a good time, Flash. I'm done with work and now is the only time I'm willing to offer my help so better make your choice fast or leave my office" Lena stated.

The Flash ignored the glare that was piercing his back as he turned to face Lena. "You can come"

Lena smiled in satisfaction at Supergirl's frustrated face and rose from her seat. "Wait for me here, I'll get the device" taking her leave and heading to the labs.

"Barry what the fuck is wrong with you?" Kara harshly whispered. "We can't take Lena with us"

"Look Kara," Barry started. "She's the only one who can help us and I'm not going to make her mad so she wouldn't change her mind, okay?! You said it only needs to press a button for it to work so we shouldn't take long"

Kara huffed. "I still don't like this"

…

They jumped out of the portal and into an alley, next to a busy street. The two heroes still in their suits but Lena had a quick change of clothes, opting to switch her fancy CEO clothes into a more comfortable and practical combat outfit. Similar to that she had worn in the dark valley inside Reign/Sam's mind. A black shirt underneath a leather jacket, Black cargo pants and combat boots.

She carried her gun in a holster inside her jacket and kept the Kryptonite/Lead spreading device in her hands as they walked around. The city was in chaos as expected. Daxamites weren't the neatest invaders. Thankfully there was none around that would bother them.

"So, do we just turn on the thing now or?" The Flash asked as he peeked out of the alley.

"The device is setting up right now, it needs some time to be ready" Lena replied. "We can just do it here, but a higher altitude or an open space will ensure the lead spreads faster"

"We can't stay here while we wait, we might get caught" Supergirl said, she was too nervous about having Lena here. What if they find them and Lena gets hurt?! Kara would never forgive herself if that happened.

"We could go to the S.T.A.R. labs while we wait" The Flash suggested. "It's not far from here"

"Yes, that sounds good" Lena nodded. "Lead the way"

"Actually, it's faster if I just run there and Supergirl flies there with you" he sheepishly said. "It would help us not get detected too"

Lena frowned disapprovingly and crossed her arms.

"It'll only be five seconds" Supergirl tried with a shrug. And Lena huffed before agreeing.

The S.T.A.R. labs were down, no one in sight, everyone was most likely hiding from the invaders and protecting themselves and their families. It was a perfect hiding space. Lena had set the device on a table and fiddled with it to make sure their mission runs smoothly. She left it to finish up and joined the two heroes who were near a desk, talking quietly.

Lena's eyes scanned over the various papers on the walls and on desks, investigations. She had passed by a desk when an all too familiar name caught her eye. Luthor. Lena picked up the report and read the articles. Her eyebrows furrowed at the words, they clearly said 'Lena Luthor, CEO of LuthorCorp' but the person in the picture was definitely not her.

"This is not me" she muttered in confusion.

Supergirl had picked up the words and her head snapped to the young Luthor. "Did you say something, Miss Luthor?"

"This is not me." Lena repeated turning the paper over to show the two. The picture showed a young woman, with blonde hair and green eyes staring into the camera, Lena shivered, she looked just like Lillian. "I don't understand"

Barry studied the picture quietly before nodding to himself, heading over to a nearby desktop and turning it on. He typed a few words and a very thorough page on the woman by Lena's name had shown up.

"Lutessa Lena Luthor, previously known as Lutessa Thorul, had only recently come out of hiding to take over her family's company after no one is left to run it." The Flash read. "An interview with the woman discussing her recent outing, Lena's reasoning for changing her last name was 'I was very ashamed of my brother's crimes, the Luthor name has become something that was only mentioned with hate and anger, I tried to run away from my responsibility as the last Luthor as much as I could but it would always find me. The only thing left to do now is to try and salvage what I can', she seems like a nice lady at least" Barry joked after he finished the main article.

Supergirl's eyes never left Lena's face, gazing intently at her friend with concern showing all over her face. Lena stayed quiet while she heard the words, she and Lutessa- or Lena, were very very similar. But they were not one in the same. Lena's stomach churned and she shakily gulped as she scanned over the possibilities in her head.

'No…' Lena's lip quivered. 'Could it be?'

"Lena…" Supergirl stepped close to gently hold her friend's arm.

"I-It's okay, I'm okay." Lena shakily replied and turned around to pick up her invention. "It's ready" she said in a monotone voice, opening a window and placing the small box on the windowsill, she handed Barry the remote, only one press of a button. He didn't hesitate and had got it over with as soon as the button was in his grasp. "It's done. They'll retreat soon"

"Oh, thank god!" The Flash sighed in relief. "I don't know how to thank you, Miss Luthor! We would have been done for if it weren't for you" he stood up with a grin. "I owe you-"

"Actually," Lena turned around. "You could do something for me"

"Really? What is it?"

Kara listened, curious as well, but mostly concerned.

"I need you to find someone here for me" Lena stated.

"Lena, just because that woman has your name doesn't mean something bad is going on" Kara told her.

"No, No, I just…" Lena trailed off. "I just need to confirm something"

"What is it?" Kara asked.

"The only reason I was adopted by the Luthors was because my mother was dead"

"If you want to do what I think you want to do, then it's a bad idea." Barry warned. "Trust me, I would know"

"No, you idiot! If she was alive here, then that means she isn't dead at all" Lena shouted. "It means that… It means that she left me"

Kara's heart broke when Lena's voice did. 'Oh, Lee'

"Oh, yeah sure, I could do that for you" Barry nodded and turned to screen. "Do you know her name?"

"No," Lena said flatly. "Can I try something though?"

"Yeah okay" Barry slid the chair away so there would be enough space for Lena. he and Kara looked at the letters Lena was slowly typing, not noticing the bright pink blush on her cheeks.

"Your name is Angelina Kieran Murphy?!" Supergirl's voice rose in shock.

"Yes" Lena said in embarrassment. "It was legally changed to Lena once I was adopted though"

"Wow, I did not expect that" Supergirl spoke in amazement.

The search results came up and Lena's heart dropped. There she was. Her face stared back at her with a soft smile for the camera. Her face even paler than now because of its natural state, her eyes lacked the bags underneath them, she was wearing casual street clothes next to a very tall, blonde woman. Lena's eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall, she remembers her, she remembers how she used to hold her and call her 'Angel', she remembered how she went under the water and never came back for Lena.

That night, Lena had stayed frozen there for hours, she didn't cry, she didn't scream for help or call for her mother. She had simply stared at the water, hoping, pleading that her mother would come back for her. But she never did. She vaguely remembers an apology, but Lena couldn't find it in herself to understand the words when they were spoken.

Little Lena was cold, hungry and tired when she was found. They took her to a local station in order to identify her, she answered when she was asked for her name. they had looked up her father, Lionel Luthor and contacted him in order for him to take responsibility. Lionel was a nice man, he was always gentle and patient with Lena. he had stayed in Ireland with her for a couple of weeks, at her request, to wait for her mother. Lena had eventually given up hope. Her mother wouldn't come back.

He had taken her to the Luthor Mansion and introduced her to her brother and new mother, her and Lex instantly clicked despite the age difference. Lillian smiled at her that day and hadn't for twenty.

"Lena," Supergirl spoke softly. "You don't have to keep looking"

"I need to find her" Lena's voice was strained. "I need to know why"

"You don't need to" Kara hesitantly touched Lena, she was still Supergirl and she was uncertain of Lena's reaction if she was to hug her.

"I do"

"Well I'll help then" Kara said firmly. And Barry nodded in agreement.

"You guys should go home and rest, I'll find out her name and tell you once I do" Barry said.

"That sounds like a good idea" Kara nodded, taking out her multiverse hopping device. "Oh! And before we go!" Kara took out her DEO phone and took a photo of the picture. "We can have Winn run some facial recognition tests back home, Lena" she said soothingly.

Lena didn't react when Supergirl opened the portal to their earth and led her to it and into her office at Lcorp. Or when Supergirl had picked her up bridal style and dropped her off at her penthouse. Lena laid in bed ignoring the constant buzzing of her phone, it was probably Kara, the thought of the blonde slightly made Lena feel better. Only slightly. She didn't sleep that night, the only thought she was able to comprehend was,

Mother is alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure some of you may have already gotten close to this conclusion, if not, were you surprised?
> 
> it's pretty obvious that this lady isn't some random woman, i'm making an entire story about her and Lena. so, i want to see who you think it is, i gave you some hints on her appearance, and i'm going to tell you that she is an existing DC character (unless you're the person i talked to on discord about the story, pls don't spoil it for the readers lmao)
> 
> oh and also, the cover counts as a hint too. tell me what you think :).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to rewrite this chapter but thought that it may take time, so i left it as it is. I hope you'll still like it anyway.

It's been a few days since Lena had went earth hopping with The Flash and Supergirl, and since then she hadn't left her apartment. she'd made sure her work was done though, she wasn't about to let her company fall apart just because she felt like crap. Jess has been sending her paperwork and some notes while Sam, the CFO of Lcorp handled Lena's meetings.

She's been working at her desk when her phone started buzzing, Lena rolled her eyes and ignored it, deeming whoever it was not important enough for Lena to stop being petty and actually reply.

Thankfully it went quiet after a minute or two, but just as it stopped, a series of knocks was rapped loudly at her door and Lena groaned. Whoever it was, they should have been prepared to stay outside for a while because Lena was not getting up to face them.

"Lena if you don't open the door, I'm kicking it down!"

Lena mockingly mouthed the words before reluctantly getting up and leaving her room for the door. Alex Danvers stood at the door with a takeout bag and a satisfied grin.

"Why are you here?" Lena frowned.

"To make sure you don't become antisocial with how much you've been hiding away from the world"

"That's not necessary"

"Yes, it is" Alex said. "You've been ignoring everyone, including Kara. She misses you"

Lena sighed heavily, she missed Kara too.

"She wanted to come see you but something with work came up and she sent me instead" Alex explained. "With food, of course"

Lena paused. "There isn't anything I can say or do to make you leave is there?"

"Nope! Now are you going to invite me in or not?"

Lena stepped back from the door and allowed Alex in, watching the woman look around in awe. "Wow your place is great"

"Thanks" Lena closed the door and led Alex to the living room, they sat on the couch.

"So," Alex started as she took out the takeout boxes and gathered them on the table. "You wanna talk about what's got you so upset?"

"No, not really" Lena frowned as she accepted the food with a 'thanks' and leaned back into the couch. "I'd rather not even think of it"

"Come on" Alex nudged the brunette. "Talking about it will make you feel better"

"No." Lena shook her head and looked down. "Not yet"

"Alright then, I won't push you" Alex said. "But I'm not letting you stay here and be miserable"

Lena snorted, she'd like to see her try.

"Oh, come on, you have to work with me here" Alex complained. "I'm not good at this comforting stuff, Kara's much better at this"

"Fine, Fine, if you want me to stop being miserable," Lena started.

"What?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You'll give me the rest of your salad" Lena smirked.

"Wow, you're like a healthy version of Kara" Alex deadpanned, and Lena laughed. She handed her salad over and Lena took it gingerly, putting the rest of her noodles down. Alex watched in amusement.

"So, what do you usually do when you're not miserable?"

Lena shrugged. "Work, read or go down to the garage to work on my cars"

A huge smile took over the older Danvers face as she thought about seeing Lena's beautiful bike again. "I'm not letting you work so we could go down to the garage"

"I know you just want to drool over my bike and cars again, Agent Danvers, you aren't slick" Lena said as she stood up to walk to her room. "Give me a moment to change my clothes"

It took Alex a few seconds to look at what Lena was wearing before she went to change, a university hoodie with black sweatpants and socks. It was the most casual thing Alex saw the CEO in, and she briefly thought about how good she looked in it. The agent quickly gathered the empty containers and shuffled over to the kitchen to throw them away and pack away the leftovers. Lena came back dressed in a dark green top under a zip up jacket, black skinny jeans and converse, she always looks good no matter what she wears, Alex thought.

Alex followed Lena out of the apartment and into the elevator, the CEO smiled at the excited face Alex had as she impatiently looked at the floors descending. "Welcome to my car paradise, Agent Danvers" Lena announced as the floor bell dinged and the doors opened. Alex gasped in joy.

As expected, the garage was very large in size, almost the size of an entire floor. The parking was not cluttered like a normal parking lot but was spacious and each car had the space of another on each side. the vehicle variety ranged from old classical cars, modern sport cars, big muscle cars, and very impressive super cars. There was of course, a wide but still much smaller variety of motorcycles that Alex couldn't tear her eyes off.

"You can go play" Lena teased with a laugh as she waved security over, telling him to get her keys.

"I can?!" Alex looked like a child in a candy store.

"Sure" Lena shrugged, walking behind a giddy Alex to the bikes.

"You said before that you made your bike?" Alex asked as she examined each vehicle they passed by.

"I did. Well not entirely" Lena said. "I made the engine and removed the older one, these are environment friendly and they go way faster than the default ones." She explained. "I would design an entire bike or car, but you know, time is really tight with my job"

"Yeah, no kidding" Alex said breathlessly.

"How about we have a race?" Lena asked with a smirk. "You think you're up for that, Agent?"

"Do I think?!" Alex gaped. "Fuck yes!"

"Great, I'm warning you though, I'm a great rider."

"I can totally beat you!" Alex insisted.

"Oh really? You wanna bet?" Lena smirked. The was no way anyone could beat her when her own inventions are being used. She knew them inside out, literally.

"Yes."

"Great. Choose your bike" Lena spread her arm towards the long row.

Alex chose a slick Black Yamaha 15 V3 - R Series 2018 and Lena suppressed a snort, clearly Alex chose based on looks and didn't actually know anything about the bikes. Fortunately for Lena, she could choose her favorite, and she knew she would absolutely win this bet and leave Alex in the dust. Lena strutted confidently past Alex and proceeded to straddle her black Kawasaki Ninja H2R.

The security guard handed each the key to their bikes, and Lena smiled at the giggles that escaped Alex while the engines revved. They moved to the door of the garage and took five minutes to decide on a route and how many laps they'll take.

On the mark of the guard, two sets of wheels squealed before both women were off. Lena had let Alex take the lead during the first lap, deciding that letting her think that she stood a chance before zooming past her with a loud rev of an engine. She saw Alex falter and raise her head from its low position in confusion, her helmet was tinted black, but Lena could smugly picture the Wide-eyed gaping expression behind the glass.

She had won the race, of course, and told Alex that she would claim her win as a future favor from her.

…

At the DEO, Kara paced behind Winn's chair in her Supergirl costume as she nervously chewed on her lip in anticipation. She had contacted Barry to ask if he had any leads on the woman Lena was so insistent on finding. Sadly, there was no records of her anywhere on Barry's Earth and her speedy friend had made the conclusion that she was probably not registered as a citizen, because she was either, a refugee, a secret agency associate or a meta human or alien. Though he tossed the last assumption out because there was not many aliens on his earth.

Now Kara had been waiting for the facial recognition tests to be done so hopefully, they'd have a lead.

Winn asked why she was so firmly determined on finding this woman for Lena, Kara hadn't replied but she was silently hoping this could get her, Supergirl, back on Lena's good side. she really missed the way Lena would smile at her when she'd visit her late at night in her office, she missed the way Lena would look at her with clear, unwavering admiration in her eyes, and she missed the times where Kara and Lena would talk without Lena frowning when her alter-ego was mentioned.

"Kara? Kara!"

Her thoughts were interrupted by Winn's voice and she turned around to face him with a hopeful expression. "What? Did you find something?"

"Well, I tried finding a facial match but there was none, and I tried looking everywhere, focused in Ireland since that's where Lena was born. So, I went to look for the name you gave me -Lena had a cute name by the way- but there was no other Murhphys that would come up other than Lena" he started, Kara's eyebrow's furrowed. "Lena's birth certificate is registered under Lionel Luthor, but the mother is unknown"

"So, you can't find anything useful?!" Kara asked.

"I never said that" he raised a finger to shush her. "Do not doubt me or my abilities"

Kara looked at him with pursed lips.

"I hacked into Lcorp's data base -please don't tell Lena, she'll kill me- and found the spending's history of the company back when Lionel Luthor was CEO, he used to deposit a consistent amount of money to an account by Lena's name by the time Lena was supposed to be born and kept depositing until he took Lena in as a Luthor. The money was still used though, Kara" Winn paused to see if his friend was keeping up. "I traced the account to an address for a small beach house in Ireland, that's where you should find clues about this mystery woman"

"Winn, you're a genius!" Kara yelled in gratitude.

"Oh, I know" he smugly responded. "Here, I'll give you the address"

"Great! I'll head over there right now!" Kara enthusiastically said, taking the scribbled note and giddily walking out the DEO doors. She briefly thought about telling Lena. she has a right to know, Kara told herself. But what if they couldn't find anything? Or worse, what if they found something that led them to this woman, and she wanted nothing to do with Lena? that would break Lena's heart.

She stayed up in the air for a few moments to think of her options before making her decision. Supergirl nodded to herself at her choice before taking off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be up in a few days, feel free to tell me what you think and if you have any questions or suggestions.  
> The next few chapters will be revealing who Lena's mother is. I hope you liked this chapter even though it's a bit short.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been getting some comments asking for ships and i know you guys want to see your favs becoming endgame, i will tell you when I've decided, even though the relationships won't matter much to the story. I'm focusing on making Lena and her Mother the main part of it.  
> Enjoy i guess. Next chapter will be uploaded in a few days since it's already done.

Lena and Alex were sitting on the floor of the garage, leaning on a car with desserts in front of them when Supergirl found them. She had been looking all over the city for the CEO, she had x-rayed the entire Lcorp building before trying her friend's home. She wasn't surprised to know that Alex had been with Lena tonight, but she didn't expect her to still be there so late.

"Agent Danvers. Miss Luthor." Supergirl greeted.

"Supergirl," Alex spoke as she stood up. "Is there anything you need?"

"As a matter of fact, there is" Supergirl narrowed her eyes lightly at her sister. "I need to speak to Miss Luthor. It's important"

"What is it?" Lena asked.

"Winn found a lead" Supergirl cleared her throat, her eyes shifting between the two women. Alex didn't know about what happened so Kara didn't want to freely speak of it if Lena didn't want her to. Lena's face paled and her body visibly tensed. "We found an address"

Supergirl paused for a few seconds, waiting to see if Lena had anything to say, before continuing. "It's a beach house in Ireland," Supergirl explained. "I thought you might want to come with me when I go there, you might remember something or notice something I won't"

"Very well, thank you, Supergirl" Lena nodded and brushed off her pants. "When are you leaving?"

"Is tomorrow morning good with you?"

"Yes, I can cancel my meetings to come with you" Lena confirmed. "Where should I meet you?"

"I'll come to your office at Lcorp" Supergirl said, handing Lena the piece of paper Winn had gave her. "I'll be taking off now, have a good night, Miss Luthor"

"See you tomorrow, Supergirl"

Lena watched the hero leave and stared at the folded paper in her palm, she wanted to take a look, but she was too afraid. Seeing it meant that this was real. She was really going to go look for the woman who had left her, abandoned her as a child. Lena wasn't sure what they'll find when they make their way inside that house. Will they find her mother there? Will they find an empty and abandoned house? Will they not find a house at all? Would they find out that a new family had moved in? too many questions raced in Lena's mind, and she couldn't handle thinking about their answers.

"Are you okay?" a hand was laid on her shoulder. Lena forgot that Alex was still here for a minute.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Alex frowned. She could only hope that tomorrow will bring good news.

…

Alex had walked Lena back to her apartment to make sure she was alright before leaving. as soon as she left the building, her sister appeared from an alley and caught up to her. Kara had been the one to send her over, but she could see that the blonde wasn't exactly pleased.

"What were you two doing down there?" there was a masked hint of accusation in Kara's voice.

Alex shrugged, she explained that she had came over with the food Kara had told her to get and made an attempt at cheering Lena up in Kara's place, as the blonde was too busy in the DEO that night, just like Kara had told her to do. It had gone surprisingly well, much to both sisters' surprise, they both knew Alex was not a cheerful or a comforting person. Kara had only wanted her friend to have some company over so she wouldn't be alone.

It went great as Alex had said, the only inconvenience they had faced was, well, Supergirl showing up.

Kara sighed heavily. She hated that her presence brought so much discomfort to Lena, she desperately wanted her best friend back. all of her, not just as Kara, but as Supergirl too. Things between them had gotten tense ever since the Harun-El incident, Kara admittedly acted too brash and hadn't thought of what the words would do to Lena.

To make it worse, Kara couldn't even mention her alter-ego anymore without making the conversation tense, meaning she had no excuse to use if she needed to check on Lena or ask about something since Kara Danvers was not supposed to know about any of the DEO operations.

"Alex, what do I do?" Kara asked, defeated. "I miss her, and she doesn't even want to look at me when I'm Supergirl."

"You could, you know" Alex started, they both got into the DEO jeep Alex had taken for the night. "Tell her?"

"What?! No!" Kara protested. "She'd hate both Supergirl AND Kara!"

"You don't know that" Alex replied.

"Yes, I do" Kara argued.

"How do you know?!"

"Lillian told me she would!" Kara confessed. "And she's not particularly happy with Supergirl at the moment either" she pointed out.

"And you're believing what Lillian Luthor is telling you?" Alex asked in confusion. "Why?"

"Because, she knows I'm Supergirl, but she hadn't told Lena. I asked her why she didn't try to, and she said that she didn't have to do anything, she didn't need to tell Lena because once she finds out on her own, she'll hate me" Kara said helplessly. "Alex, what do I do? Lena is too important to me. I can't lose her as Kara too, I can't."

Alex took in the words her sister said, those words sounded more like a confession. Kara was waiting for a response and Alex cleared her throat, carefully considering the words she was about to say. "Well, I'm pretty sure Lena will be mad either way, Kara" she gently said. "Think about it, out of all of our friends, Lena is the only one who doesn't know your secret. Lena already has plenty of trust issues, and if she were to find out that you've been keeping her in the dark for over two years, I can imagine she'll never look at you the same again"

Casting a side glance at her sister, Kara's lip was caught between her teeth and her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Alex continued, however. "But if you want her to give you a chance at redeeming yourself -it will take her a while though, she may not talk to you for a long time- you'll have to be the one to tell her, and you'll have to work hard. It won't be easy, but you at least owe her that much."

Alex parked outside her sister's apartment building and turned to face the blonde, who had tears streaming down her face.

"So, what's this thing you came to talk to Lena about tonight?" Alex asked with a sad smile, handing her sister a box of tissues. "It sounded serious"

"Lena's birth mother is alive" Kara replied hoarsely. "I promised I would find her for her"

Alex eyebrows shot up. That must've been some huge news.

"Winn and I found an address for a beach house that we think used to belong to Lena's mother and I wanted to take here there to see if we could find anything" Kara explained, blowing her nose.

"Well, that explains Lena's bad mood." Alex commented. "But this is actually a great way for Lena to like you as Supergirl again!"

"What do you mean?"

"If you find this woman, and reunite Lena with her mother, she'll be grateful to you and will no longer hate you!" Alex grinned. "If all goes well, you could tell her you're Supergirl afterwards"

"I hope so…" Kara trailed off.

"Great! Now get out of the car and go rest, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow" Alex shooed her sister away. Kara opened the door and stepped out, shooting her sister a small smile of gratitude before entering the building.

Alex watched her sister go with a smile that faltered once the blonde was out of sight. Their conversation left Alex with a heavy feeling in her gut, it was obvious Kara had non-platonic feelings for Lena. Kara may not have realized it yet, but anyone could see it. She was afraid that her sister's heart would be broken. There was also the issue of Alex's new-found feelings for the young CEO, Alex was not stupid, nor was she blind. She could easily know when she was attracted to someone and she was definitely attracted to Lena. how could she not? Lena was smart, Beautiful and kind. Anyone would fall for her.

She just hoped that these feelings she and Kara shared for the Luthor wouldn't come between them.

…

Lena laid in bed that night, idly staring at the piece of paper on her nightstand. She wondered if perusing her mother was a good idea, she had willingly left it seems, perhaps she didn't want to be found? Should Lena continue selfishly looking for answers that would maybe not be answered willingly? Lena didn't want to force her presence on someone if she was not wanted, and she knew all too well what it felt like to be unwanted, unwelcome, intruding on something that could never be hers and becoming a nuisance. Lillian was quite clear with her thoughts and verbalized them whenever she pleased, and Lena swore she would never let herself be subjected to those feelings ever again.

Green eyes shifted to her phone, hands nervously grasping the edge of her pillow. Maybe this was a bad idea, she should just contact Supergirl and call off their morning trip. It briefly crossed her mind that she had no means of contacting the hero other than her best friend, Kara, and Lena would feel bad if she had wakened her friend in the middle of the night for something so silly.

Lena huffed and turned to face the other side of the room, no longer wanting to give the situation anymore thought. This was a problem she'd have to deal with in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter will reveal who Lena's mother is. Hopefully you've liked this one.  
> The story will start to take off soon and I have some plans I've been meaning to put in this story, even though it may be a while.  
> I hope you liked this chapter, the next one will be up in a few days.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter will finally reveal who Lena's mother is. It's a bit longer than other chapters and i had fun writing it. hopefully you'll like it.  
> There's also a scene that i think you, SuperCorp shippers will like and hate at the same time :). I added it because up until now it's been mainly AgentCorp throughout the story. I want to please both sides before choosing and i hope you might continue to read the story even if you don't ship the endgame.  
> Enjoy.

The journey to Ireland was uneventful. Lena had taken a private jet of hers, insisting that she would not be carried all the way there, even though Supergirl had offered. A short debate later, Supergirl had joined Lena inside the aircraft after Lena had pointed out that she didn't even know where to go.

Supergirl had been looking outside the windows while Lena sat across from her, looking over some paperwork she had decided to bring with her. The Blonde's eyes shifting occasionally to her dark-haired companion. Lena refusing to look up and meet her eyes.

Supergirl sighed. "Lena"

Vibrant green eyes met bright blue and Lena raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

How long will you be mad at me for? Kara wanted to ask. I miss you, she wanted to say. But she didn't. Lena stared into her eyes for a few minutes before taking the silence as a sign that the hero had nothing to say and returned to the sheets in her hand.

"We're almost there" Supergirl cleared her throat. She could see their destination by the horizon and sat straighter in her seat. All she received was a hum of acknowledgment, Kara visibly deflated at the nonchalant attitude. She had been hoping that the time they would spend on the way would be for making amends, but Kara was too much of a coward to say anything and now their time would come to an end.

The pilot had announced their descend and Kara could hear Lena's heart start to pound, despite her calm appearance.

They stepped down onto the sand and paused to look around. The spot they had landed at was a very secluded area, a small beautiful beach surrounded by high mountains. Golden sand sparkled under the crashing waves of a deep, calm ocean and the illuminating rays of a rising sun, white foam carrying shiny seashells and scattering it on the shore. The wind blew gently at their faces, salty humid air softly leaving a calm, peaceful tranquility in its trail, willing them to relax and ease their worries. Lena closed her eyes, heart aching as she breathed in the familiar scent of cool water, gritty sand and saltwater.

The mountains carried open fields, glimpses of rooftops upon the slope, the bustling of a town was clear to Supergirl's ears. Her eyes focused on the cause of their journey, however.

The house was far more modern that Lena expected, the walls were a pristine white with a smooth ceramic roof that had a stone chimney trailing down one of the walls. It was a one story, cozy cottage with wooden doors and window frames. It was beautiful.

"Do you think there's someone inside?" Lena asked quietly.

"I hope so" Supergirl offered a small smile and glanced at the house once more. "Ready to find out?"

"No." Lena said bluntly.

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad" Supergirl chuckled.

"It might be"

"You're stalling, Lena" Supergirl pointed out.

"No, I'm not" Lena wiped a sweaty palm on the fabric of her pants. "I'm just mentally preparing myself"

"That's alright, take your time" there was a teasing hint in the blonde's voice and Lena narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, let's go" Lena took a deep breath and willed herself to start walking, her heart pounding louder the closer she got to the door. She raised a shaky fist, swallowing heavily. They stood on the porch for a couple of minutes, Kara waiting patiently for Lena to rap her knuckles along on the wood. Lena's fist clenched and unclenched, her eyes fixated forward but they held fear and Kara frowned. Taking the hesitating fist in her hand and gently lowering it down with a soft smile. "Let me" the blonde's smile widened at the nod she received.

Three knocks thudded in Lena's ears and the wait was unbearable. The second round of knocks brought heavy disappointment.

Lena's eyes cast downwards as they filled with tears. She knew she shouldn't have come. How stupid was she? What did she even expect? She could hear Supergirl's knocks getting louder and more desperate.

"Supergirl, just stop" Lena spoke quietly. "There's no one inside"

"There has to be!" using her x-ray vision to scan the house, Kara frowned. "Let's go inside" she spoke determinedly, opening the door which was unlocked.

The inside looked surprisingly neat and clean, it was furnished and had various children toys scattered. But otherwise, the house seemed to be deserted of any life. Lena looked around with a heavy heart, she had no doubt that this was the house she lived twenty years ago. She followed Supergirl inside, who was looking through everything that was in her field of vision.

Lena trailed around absent mindedly, her eyes caught onto a frame by the window. The photograph was a picture of a near two-year-old Lena in the lap of the same blonde woman, held tightly while both smiled brightly for the camera. Lena trailed a finger over the faces, where are you? She thought.

"Lena?!"

The CEO looked up to see the blonde hero at a desk near a corner, she had a letter in her hand and was observing a small cylindrical object in the other.

"Where did you find that?" Lena asked.

"It was here under this thing" Kara presented both items to Lena.

The Letter had one word on the envelope. "Angel".

Lena's hand trembled while she broke the wax seal, taking the folded piece of paper out hesitantly. Taking a deep breath before unfolding it and reading the words left behind for her.

'Dear Angelina,

I know you must have an overwhelming amount of feelings running through you, as I did when I had to make my choice. But I cannot come to comprehend what you must feel. I am incredibly sorry I had to leave you while you were so young, it pained me a great deal to leave you behind, but I had no choice.

Let me assure you that I've done what I could to stay with you as long as possible. But I had been demanded to leave, taking you with me was not an option as the threats were too great. But now, twenty years has passed, and the danger no longer lingers, I visit this house in hopes of seeing you again. It sounds foolish to think you'd be waiting for me, but I still hope.

When the time was safe for me to reach out to you, your father had died, and I had no means of contacting you. I was lost, guilty, and very much regretful. I had hoped to continue watching you grow, to see for myself what new exciting things you would have been up to. I will certainly be proud of you, no matter what choices of life you make.

But I understand your life must have been hard, and that you might not want to see me again, but I will wait for you, for as long as I could. when you are ready, fill the object I had laid on my letter with water and wait for me. I will come to you.

I love you more than you will ever know, Angel.

Love,

Mom'

Lena's lips trembled as she read, her eyes filling with tears that made her vision blurry and caused her body to shake. Her hand tightened on the edges of the letter. Mother wanted to see her. She had come back to this house to look for her more than once in hopes of seeing her. Lena took a shaky breath of relief. She'll see her mother again.

"Lena… is everything alright?" Supergirl asked tentatively once Lena looked up from the letter.

"Yes." Lena said breathlessly with a small smile as she wiped away her tears.

"Really?" Kara perked up at the response.

"Yes." She repeated with a happy sigh, she didn't believe it either. She had turned away from the hero and made her way outside. Supergirl followed.

Lena stepped into the water, shivering from the icy stab at her legs. She crouched and dunked the cylinder under the surface and waited, aware of the curious gaze behind her. As water flowed into the item, a glowing pattern appeared on its surface. Lena looked in wonder before taking it out and observing more closely, waddling out of the water and onto the shore. "The letter said to put water in this and wait" Lena explained. "She said she'd come"

"Well, I guess we're waiting then." Supergirl smiled kindly.

"you can go back if you want, I can wait here alone." Lena frowned.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Supergirl replied. "I have to stay and make sure you're alright."

"I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

"I insist, Lena" Supergirl smiled widely at the eyeroll she received, taking that Lena lets her address her with her name instead of Miss Luthor as a positive sign.

They stayed until the sun had set, Lena sat on the sand for hours while Supergirl explored. Her anxiety rising with passing moments. Kara had tried to distract Lena by suggesting searching the house, it worked for a few hours before Lena had returned to stare at the waves, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

Kara had joined her not too long ago, they sat together in silence and waited.

"Do you think she's really coming?" Lena asked in a small voice. Insecurity clear.

"She said she would. She asked you to wait." Supergirl replied. "She might be on the way."

Lena contemplated the answer, it was reasonable. The time to get here was long, she didn't know from where her mother would come but she would wait. Maybe she would be coming from somewhere even further than them.

Lena's thoughts were interrupted by the brush of a cloth on her shoulders. She looked to her side and saw Supergirl with a bashful and apologetic expression. "I thought you might be cold." Lena offered no reply and instead looked ahead once again. She didn't brush off the red cape around her shoulders though.

"I'm really happy that you're getting the chance to see your mother again." Lena heard. "I thought mine was dead too, but I got to meet her again, and it was the best day of my life."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you and I are more similar than I thought" Kara admitted.

"No, we are not!" Lena spat defensively. "You made sure that I would know that."

"I know…" Kara sighed. "But I was wrong. I'm sorry for what I've said and done to you, Lena"

"It's too late to try and apologize, Supergirl."

"I- I know…" Kara's gaze dropped. "but I will still try to make up for my mistakes. I can just hope that you'll let me."

Lena didn't reply, her eyes boring coldly into Supergirl. Kara's eyes met Lena's once she peeked up, and she realized just how close they were sitting. Lena was sitting close, but her posture was shifted backwards, putting more distance between them. Kara's throat was suddenly feeling dry, she swallowed and licked her lips to wet them. She caught the way Lena's eyes faltered down to stare at the movement of her tongue. Kara boldly moved her face forward, pausing to give Lena the chance to back away. Lena's lips only pursed tighter. So, Kara leaned even closer, she could feel the warm breaths on her lips, she closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment to appreciate their closeness.

Just as Kara was about to press their lips together, a loud splash broke the spell they were in. Lena clambered away from Supergirl and onto her feet. Kara sat still to let the interruption sink in, she cursed at herself and how foolish she was before climbing to her feet as well.

A woman in a skin-tight body suit emerged from the depths and marched hurriedly onto the shore, she didn't seem to notice the two figures staring at her from afar.

"Is that-?!" Lena perked up.

The woman looked around before making her way to the house, Kara gasped in joy and grasped Lena's wrist, beginning to pull her over behind the woman. Lena let her, as she was too busy trying to calm herself and return her heart rate to normal. She's here, she's truly here. The woman disappeared inside the house and Kara tugged Lena even faster, bursting through the door and surprising the woman, who had been looking at a strange device in her hand, and startling her into a fighting pose, wielding a silver trident.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" She demanded, pointing her weapon at Supergirl who immediately put her hands up to show she meant no harm. "How did you find this place?"

"We called you here." Supergirl explained. "We came to look for you."

"I have no business with you." She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want from me?" She demanded.

Lena snapped out of her stupefied state and moved from behind Supergirl to show herself. The woman's movement faltered, and her face shifted from anger to disbelief. The trident was lowered hesitantly.

"A- … Angelina?"

"… It's just Lena now." Lena's eyes overflowed with tears as she weakly smiled.

There was a pause of hesitation before a loud thud as the trident was dropped to the floor, arms surrounded Lena in a tight hug, and she allowed her tears to fall as she savored the feeling of love she longed for.

Supergirl watched the two reunited with satisfaction and a hint of longing. She waited for them to separate before clearing her throat. "May we have your name, please?" Kara asked with a polite smile.

The woman caressed her daughter's cheek, gently brushing away a tear before facing Supergirl and proudly stating.

"I am Atlanna, Queen of Atlantis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a guess on who it might be and surprisingly, it was correct.  
> how do you feel about this reveal? did it surprise you? i hope it did. I had this idea in my head for a long time, when Lena said that she saw her mother go to the water and never came back, it might have sounded like she drowned herself but that didn't have to be the case. and after i saw the Aquaman movie, this idea just came up to me. and it hadn't been done before, so i did it myself :).  
> Let me know what you think. The next chapter is halfway done already and will be uploaded next week.


	8. Chapter 8

Atlanna's response had shocked both Lena and Supergirl, not only was Lena's mother a meta human, an Atlantean, but she was royalty as well. Lena had insisted that her mother comes back to National City with her, as she was still supposed to work the next morning and to show her mother what she had been achieving during her life. Atlanna had agreed, hoping to make up for lost time with her daughter.

Lena had been enthusiastically telling Atlanna about Lcorp and what it was to be a CEO when Atlanna had interrupted apologetically. "That sounds amazing, sweetie, but I must ask. How did you find the house? I imagine it's been out of your memory for quite a long time."

"Oh, it was. I've thought you were dead all those years, Mother." Lena responded. "I had found out you were alive not too long ago."

"I know it may have caused you some conflict on whether you wanted to come see me or not?" Atlanna said knowingly.

"It did. I wasn't sure If I would have been able to handle the fact that you simply abandoned me." Lena confessed. "But, Supergirl had found the house and told me of it, and I had to find out why."

"I'm glad you did, Angelina." Atlanna smiled gently.

"It's just Lena now, Mother." Lena repeated, thinking that Atlanna hadn't heard the first time.

"But why? Do you not like your name?" Atlanna asked, her smile faltering.

"Oh, no I love it!" Lena hurriedly said. "But Father had legally changed my name to Lena Luthor when you've left and that's what I've been called for twenty years. It's a bit different to hear someone call me by another name."

"I see." Atlanna said "How did you figure out I was alive? I do not live on the surface. No one knows of me here."

Lena retold the events of her brief adventure with Supergirl and The Flash. About the Daxamite invasion and how she had been the one to be asked for help because she already had the solution to that problem. "I had seen a news article. It had my name on it, but the person mentioned was definitely not me. She had looked like Mother- I mean Lillian," Lena corrected. "She was clearly the daughter of Lillian and Father, so that made me wonder, if she were in my place, with my name, Do I not exist here? Or did Father simply did not adopt me?" Lena voiced her thoughts. "But the only reason Father did adopt me in the first place, was because we had thought you were dead, Mother."

Atlanna stayed silent, urging her daughter to keep going. Supergirl had been listening in on the conversation unintentionally, she tried not to, to give the two women some space to talk privately, but she was still in the same room with Lena and Atlanna and it's not like they were whispering.

"So, I thought, is Mother alive here? And when I saw that you were, I thought that you might be alive in our world too." Lena explained. "Supergirl had done the rest though, she found you for me" Lena gave Supergirl a nod with a small, grateful smile, who gave one in return.

"Excuse me, Mother, I'll go change my clothes for dry ones." Lena pointed at her soaked pants and sleeves, from when she had stepped into the ocean to activate the device. "I won't be long."

Atlanna had told Lena to take her time before turning her gaze to the Kryptonian who was sitting at the end of the jet. Kara sat fiddling her thumbs as she looked outside the window, she waited until Lena was out of sight before taking her personal phone out and checking her texts. There was a bunch of texts from Alex asking to be updated on the situation with Lena's mother with a wish of good luck. There were also a few texts from Lena, apologetically telling her she won't be at the office today.

Kara responded to Alex's text with a 'I'll tell you when I get back' and then replied to Lena's with a 'Aww that's too bad, I was going to get you some of that new Thai food place for lunch :(' and 'Hope everything is alright though' and 'Text me when you can!' with a series of hearts and emojis with each text.

Kara snuck her phone back in her boot and looked up to check if Lena was back or not, Thankfully, she wasn't. But Atlanna was staring at her from across the room. Kara awkwardly cleared her throat and smiled nervously under the gaze.

"The crest you bare, it's very familiar." Atlanna spoke.

"It's my family crest, The House of El." Kara said. "You might recognize it from my cousin, Superman."

"Ah yes, he is a very good friend of my son, Arthur."

"Arthur? As in King Arthur? Aquaman Arthur?" Kara asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. That is him."

'Wow. Lena's brother is a member of The Justice League' Kara thought in amazement.

"I'm very thankful that you've brought my daughter to me. I have tried to find her for the last ten years." Atlanna said. "I owe you a great deal."

"Oh no, there's no need for that." Kara waved off. "I'm glad that you found each other, Lena deserves to be happy."

"You care about my daughter?"

"Yes, I do. Very much." Kara responded softly.

"I can tell you do, but there is something that's keeping you apart?" Atlanna questioned.

"There is something," she confessed. "But I can't tell you, or her. I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright, everyone has secrets."

The two blondes sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Lena to come back. She had entered the room in a fresh set of clothes, and a second in her arms. Stating that it's better for her mother to wear them to avoid any suspicion from the public. "We should probably keep your trident in my house while I show you around, Mother."

"Why though?"

"Because you can't walk among humans waving a giant fork around." Lena deadpanned.

…

National city was a very different territory than what Atlanna had been used to, the busy hustle and loud noise everywhere overwhelmed the poor woman. Atlantis was a quiet kingdom despite its size and the number of citizens it held, not to mention the sea creatures roaming around. But it was still considerably less noisy. Even her time with Tom, he had lived at the lighthouse, away from any towns or cities. Lena had nonchalantly explained that the reason for that was probably because of the sea, sound was less clear when it was contained in water.

Lena had taken Atlanna everywhere she could think of, excitedly telling her about the life on the surface. They had been to Lena's apartment first, the CEO showing her mother her living space proudly. They have been on a few stops before arriving at CatCo, Lena wanted to introduce her mother to her best friend before taking her to Lcorp.

The elevator dinged and both women stepped out, Lena striding confidently into the floor looking for her favorite reporter. Atlanna followed with her head up, emitting an aura of grace as a queen should.

"Miss Luthor!" a blonde had called out, sadly it was not the blonde Lena was looking for. "What a surprise, do you need anything here at CatCo? I haven't received any e-mails about you visiting the building-"

"Oh no, Eve, I'm not here for business" Lena smiled. "I'm here for Kara, do you know where she is?"

"I believe she's in Snapper's office at the moment" Eve said thoughtfully. "I can call for her if you'd like"

"No, that's fine, I can wait" Lena shook her head.

"Very well, do you need anything while you wait? I can get you and your companion some coffee, if you'd like."

Lena turned around to face her mother and asked if she wanted something, Atlanna politely declined and Eve took her leave. Ten minutes later, Kara left Snapper's office and headed to her desk to start working again but the sight of Lena and Queen Atlanna -who had been wearing a smart outfit just like Lena- made her stop in her tracks and her jaw drop.

"Kara!" Lena called with a bright smile, it's been so long since Lena smiled at her that way.

"Lena! What are you doing here?!" Kara made her way over and hugged Lena with a grin.

"I came to introduce you to someone" Lena explained. "We should probably go somewhere a bit private first"

The three of them entered the CEO's office and Lena turned to Kara with a bright smile. "Kara, this is my mother, Atlanna" Lena said "Mother, this is Kara Danvers, my best friend."

Atlanna looked confused for a second, looking at Kara with furrowed eyebrows. Kara held her breath when she noticed and prayed to Rao that Atlanna won't accidentally expose her. The older blonde looked at her daughter then back at Kara before smiling knowingly and offering a hand. "It is nice to meet you, Kara Danvers." The reporter released a relived sigh.

"Likewise." Kara smiled nervously and shook the offered hand.

"Now I know this is a bit shocking and probably came out of nowhere, but I was hoping to explain everything to you and the others tomorrow night" Lena smiled hopefully.

"Of course! Your place?" Kara asked. "Should I bring anything?"

"Yes. and just yourself, your sister and Winn" Lena said. She should get something to thank Winn, he was the one who found Lena's mother after all. Or led them to find her. Would he like a new gaming console? Probably, Winn is such a nerd. He sometimes texted her about new video games he thought she'd like, Lena did look them up and was astonished about how a game could be so tempting. Sadly, she doesn't have the time for such things, she definitely would if she could. Maybe she could get him some of his own recommendations.

"We'll be there!" Kara grinned, taking her phone out. "I'll tell them right now!"

"Great!" Lena smiled.

"I can't wait!" Kara said enthusiastically and briefly checking her texts. "The others say they'll definitely be there too."

Atlanna watched the interaction with interest. Lena's attitude towards Kara is vastly different from Supergirl, even though they were the same person. Atlanna had concluded that her daughter simply didn't know that they were one in the same and suddenly, what Supergirl said back at the jet made sense. It was confusing to see that Lena didn't notice, she seemed to spend time with both personas and still couldn't figure out the connection. It wasn't Atlanna's place to speak up though, she knew what it was like to keep a secret for the sake of others.

Lena hugged Kara once more, the embrace taking a bit longer than the previous one. They exchanged their farewells, and Lena and Atlanna took their leave.

Kara waited until both women were out of sight before hurriedly calling her sister. The blonde didn't wait for a greeting and spoke up the moment the call had been answered. "Alex! Lena's mom knows who I am!" she sat on her chair, looking around to make sure no one is listening.

"How the fuck did that happen?!"

Kara sighed, rubbing at her crinkle. "I don't know! Lena introduced her to me, and she was looking at me weird, it hasn't been a day since she last saw me. I'm pretty sure she recognized me."

"Well, glasses and a ponytail aren't a really good disguise, Kara" the blonde heard the snicker in her sister's dry tone. "Anyone who spent time with both you and Supergirl could make the connection. Anyone other than Lena of course"

"This isn't funny," Kara stated. "She knows who I am, what if she tells Lena?"

"If she wanted to tell Lena -which she should since you're too much of a coward to do so- she would have mentioned it while you were there."

Kara frowned. She would tell Lena her secret. Eventually.

"But if it makes you feel better, I'll bring an NDA with me, just in case."

"That does make me feel better. Thanks, Alex." Kara smiled lightly.

"Yeah, no problem." Kara was about to bid her sister goodbye when she continued. "Is Lena's mom going to be there tomorrow? because if what you're saying is true and Lena's mom is really a QUEEN, then I'm gonna make sure I look presentable. I won't let myself look like trash in front of her."

"I'm not sure, Lena never mentioned that. She only said that she'll be explaining everything." Kara shrugged. "But please come by and help me pick an outfit for tomorrow too?"

"Yeah sure." Alex agreed. "Should we tell Winn about this?"

Both sisters paused to think their response over and ultimately snorted and simultaneously laughed. "Nah!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter cleared up some things that i might have missed explaining previously, about how Lena figured out her mother is alive and about her Atlantean family.  
> The next update will hopefully be out by next week.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive!! and back with another chapter!  
> would you be mad if I said this was actually done two months ago and I just needed to finish the last three lines? I came back and finished it after catching up with Supergirl.

Hearing about Lena's life had been a joy to Atlanna, for the past two decades she had been absent from it, missing most of her daughter's important milestones. It occurred to her that it had been the same for both of her older children, she had left her eldest son at the age of three and her second son at the age of five, and her only daughter at the age of four. Atlanna sighed heavily, she had been a bad mother to all her children, how they could still love her as much as they do is a mystery.

The city tour Lena was giving her mother was coming to an end and Atlanna was slightly relived, as much as she loved spending time with her daughter, being exposed to an entirely different culture and environment made the Atlantean feel lost and vulnerable.

During the car ride, Atlanna had casually mentioned that she'd have to go back to the sea soon, making Lena's head whip around to look at her with surprise and sadness. "You're leaving again?!" The quiver in her daughter's voice made Atlanna's heart sink.

"No, Angel. I must simply go back to the water for a while before I come back to the surface." Atlanna shook her head to assure her daughter. "Atlanteans of higher status like me and your brothers can walk freely on the surface, but we must go back to the sea eventually. We would get sick otherwise."

Relief washed over Lena, thankful that her mother was not planning on leaving, her eyebrows rose at the last bit of information, however. "Brothers?! I have brothers?" Lena's stomach flipped.

"Yes, your eldest brother, Arthur, and your older brother, Orm." Atlanna smiled fondly. "They would love to meet you, they have been waiting for a long time."

"They know about me?" Lena's heart skipped a beat. They wanted to meet her too?

"Oh yes, after Arthur had found me in my exile, I had been allowed to go back to Atlantis and live a peaceful life with them." Atlanna nodded. "I've told them about you, and they were ready to send an army to the surface to find you, but the surface dwellers would think of it as an attack and it would have caused a war." Atlanna said. "The only thing I could have done was wait for you to come home, I did not know where you lived or how to find you, Arthur tried going to the surface to look for you in Ireland, but he had no luck."

Lena's mind tried to grasp the information she had just received. She had other siblings. Older brothers, who despite not knowing her or anything about her, were willing to go look for her themselves. She felt a sting of sorrow for Lex, he used to be the only family she had, she relied on him until she no longer could. she had truly felt alone after his arrest. And now, she didn't have to be, she had a family now.

"Would you ever come to Atlantis with me?"

The question caught Lena off guard, and she didn't how to answer it. Atlanna stayed quiet, patiently waiting for her daughter's response.

"I-… I don't know…" Lena trailed off. "I can't leave my work behind and go off as I please. And I'm sure I can't breathe under water."

"How come you can't?" Atlanna was confused. "Arthur is half human like you, and he is capable of everything an Atlantean can."

"Well, I haven't TRIED to breath under water."

Growing up, Lena had been afraid of large volumes of water. Seeing what she thought was her mother drowning in front of her had been a traumatizing experience that had her going to therapy for quite a long time before she even remotely felt safe bathing in a tub. Father and Lex had been supportive and comforting at least, but Lillian had been ruthless about the subject. Making snarky comments about how Lena should just grow up and get over it like an adult, like a Luthor, disregarding that Lena, at the time was only four years old. Little Lena was confused at the beginning, why was mother angry at her for being afraid? When she dared ask about the subject, she was met with harsh, cold and violent words that left little Lena with a painful stab at her heart and hot tears streaming down her face.

"Maybe you should just go drown yourself like your whore of a mother did, at least then you wouldn't be such a disappointment."

Lena never forgot those words, spat at her with such venom and hatred, she never understood just how hateful Lillian Luthor could be until she heard her utter such cruelty. Admittedly, Lena did see a flash of regret in her adoptive mother's eyes as she looked at her with blurry eyes and trembling lips, she never got to know if Lillian would have said anything else as she ran out with her quiet sobs shaking her small body. Lillian hadn't spoken to her for a month afterwards, and Lena had never been thankful for such an extended break from the disapproving gazes and reminders of how she is a disappointment to the Luthor name.

"Did your powers not awaken?" Atlanna cut her thoughts off.

"I… I don't really know." Lena admitted. "I never thought I'd have any, so I never cared to check." Atlanna hummed thoughtfully and Lena continued. "And I always avoided being around water unless it was in a bathroom."

Atlanna raised a hand and held her daughter's face, her eyes searched the deep pools of green for any signs of golden specks, she shook her head with a sigh when she found none. "You have not connected with the ocean yet; your powers remain slumbering. Although your biology should have Atlantean traits."

"Like what?" Lena questioned.

"Have you ever been shot or stabbed?"

"Fortunately, no." Lena raised an eyebrow.

"No human weapon will harm you, only Atlantean blades and such will pierce your skin."

Lena's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Well that was nice.

"So, if I take a knife and press it on my finger, I won't bleed?" she asked, itching to experiment with her new-found knowledge about herself.

"No, but you shouldn't do it on purpose anyway." Atlanna said knowingly.

"Tell me more about what I could do." Lena requested eagerly.

"Well, your body has a high tolerance for low temperatures and your eyes adjust to seeing in the darkness of the sea, you can breathe and speak underwater." Atlanna listed absentmindedly. "Once your powers awaken, you'll be able to communicate and command the sea creatures, some Atlanteans have the ability to manipulate water."

Lena listened in fascination, it was hard to believe she had spent her entire life away from something so great. Her mind formulating different ways to test these new powers and their limits. Her thoughts were replaced by a sudden need to know how she had come to get them in the first place. How did the Queen of Atlantis lay with her father, Lionel Luthor?

"Mother, how did you and Father meet?" Lena mentally scolded herself for sounding like a child, but remained quiet, waiting for her mother's response.

"My story goes beyond just your father, Angel." Atlanna smiled kindly.

"Tell me." Lena urged.

"Very well then." Atlanna nodded. "It had started about thirty years ago, I was to be married to a king and produce him an heir, I had refused and fled Atlantis in hopes of running from the fate that awaited me. I managed to outrun a small group of guards as I left the kingdom but unfortunately for me, I was injured in the process. The sea had taken me away and delivered me to my first love, Tom the lighthouse keeper." Atlanna paused to smile fondly at the memory of the man who held her heart. "He treated my wound and allowed me to stay with him, we fell in love and a year later we had brought a child to the world. We named him Arthur. The three years I stayed with Tom and Arthur were the happiest years of my life, but my husband found me and attacked our lighthouse, promising an army the next time he sends for me. I couldn't endanger my family any longer, so I had to leave and go back to my kingdom."

"Arthur was only three years old." Atlanna sighed. "When I went back, I had conceived another boy, Orm. He was to be the King of Atlantis after his father's passing. The king kept me to look after Orm as a child, but I had learned of his plan to rid of me, so I fled once again. Orm was only five at the time." Atlanna's face fell as she mentioned abandoning her two children. "Following the sea, I ended up in Ireland. I stayed there for two years, hiding from the Atlantean guards patrolling the sea. I made a living in the town on the other side of the mountains, I gathered fish from the ocean and sold them in the marker for a living. And then I met your father…"

"He was a good man, really. Lionel had been visiting the country for a business trip, as he told me, the city was a bit far from where the town was. He said that his business deal had been successful and so he and his companions planned a celebratory trip to the country. I met him as I had been preparing to leave for the night, he insisted I join him in the tavern, and I saw no harm in doing so. We sought each other's company for the remainder of his trip and as he was about to leave, I told him I was baring his child."

Lena frowned. Not only was she a bastard child, but she was the result of some flings too?

"Lionel was conflicted, he told me that he had a wife and child and that he must return to and so he couldn't be with me. I was upset with him for wanting to turn away from his unborn child, from me. But he promised that he would contribute as much as he could. He never came to visit, not even when you were born but he gave me money to care for you, built a house for me to raise you in, it was just you and I."

Lena leaned back in her seat and sighed, rubbing at her eyes. She didn't know why that surprised her, she knew she was a bastard child, Lillian did not go a day without telling her that she was a mistake, a slip up on her father's part. She felt foolish thinking that her father may have loved her mother enough to want a child with her, Lena was proved wrong again and again and Lillian was always right.

"We're here, Miss Luthor." The driver rolled down the window separating him and the passengers behind him.

"Very well, thank you,"

"Make no mistake, Angel, your father loved you. And he loved me. His love wasn't enough for him to stay but it was enough to take you in during mu absence" Atlanna said before Lena left the vehicle.

Lena paused and briefly remembered something Lex told her before he was taken to jail. It was the last memory she had of her real brother. The brother she loved and not the monster he became.

"I want you to know with certainty, that where I came from poison, you came from love."

Lena released a shaky breath and stepped out. "come along, Mother, we have much to discuss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think in the comments pls and don't be afraid to call me out on my bad math if you actually calculated the years and ages Atlanna was telling. I'm actually leaning towards a ship now and I'll tell what it is in the next chapter, hopefully.   
> Now I go back to lurking and not updating for months. Bye :).


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one week? yes, I'm trying to make up for my disappearance.  
> Enjoy. I stayed up till 1 am to finish this. And I started it at 11 Am.

The events Lena had recited to her friends left them both shocked and awe struck. Mostly Winn anyways. Kara knew already since she was there as Supergirl, and Alex had a vague idea of it because of Kara. The way Lena started speaking about the reason of inviting them to her place, however, got everyone briefly nervous and worried. 'Guys, I need to tell you something. You're the people I trust most so, I want you to be the first ones to know.' There was a short pause, filled with anticipation before the beans were finally spilled.

"Wait! So, you're telling me your mother is a queen?!"

Leave it to Winn to be such a fanboy. He was sitting on the edge of his seat in front of the three girls. Lena sat on the couch in the middle of the Danvers sisters.

"Yes, Winn. That is what I said." Lena replied with an amused smile.

"You are ROYALTY!" he squealed.

"Again. Yes, Winn."

"Oh my GOD!"

Alex took a sip of her beer before looking at Lena next to her. "So, you being a meta-human means you could potentially be a superhero?" Kara perked up at the question. She knew it was a stretch but maybe Lena could understand her point of view if she were to be in the same situation? She also missed having a super buddy, fighting crime alone was, well, lonely. And draining at times. Maybe once Lena became a heroine like her, they could reform their once broken bond? She hoped so.

"Well, from a powers standpoint, yes I could-"

"you HAVE to let me design you a suit!" Winn gasped in joy.

"-but I don't want to."

"Whaat?!"

Lena rolled her eyes at everyone's response. She expected this from Winn, but Kara and Alex too? Being a hero is a silly dream and she wouldn't waste her time with it. Not after every single hero she ever looked up to turned out to be a deceiving liar. Heroes were fake people who pretended to gods amongst humans and they thrived on the need the weak provided them.

"I don't want to be a hero" she repeated.

"But why not?"

"Just because." Lena replied firmly, clearly indicating the end of the discussion.

Winn hmph'd and mumbled something suspiciously close to 'I'm still gonna design a suit anyway'

"It's okay, Lena, you don't have to pressure yourself to become a hero just because you have powers." Kara said kindly. "It's a big responsibility and you don't have to carry it." Her eyes widened at the look Alex was giving her as she sipped her beer. "I- I mean, I think so anyways! N- Not that I would know!"

"She's right." Alex nodded. "It would also be reckless of you to just jump into danger without even knowing what you're capable of or without any proper training."

"Mother asked me to go to Atlantis with her." Lena blurted out. "She says I have two brothers, and they want to see me."

"And are you going?" Alex asked.

"I'm… not sure." Lena admitted. "I can't leave Lcorp behind for long and just go off as I please. And Atlantis is under water, what if I can't even breathe there? What if I'm not welcome? I- I can't even Swim!"

"Lena, your mother is the Queen! I'm pretty sure you're welcome." Winn said.

"Sam, Jess and Eve can take care of Lcorp for a week or two." Alex pointed out. "It isn't going to fall apart the minute you leave."

"And we can see if you can breathe underwater or not!" Kara said excitedly. "We can try to wake your powers. Or even just get you a diving suit if that won't work." She shrugged.

"Guys…" Lena sighed.

"Lena, that's your home. Give it a chance." Kara smiled to encourage her friend.

"You'll get to take a look at their technology, which is rumored to be the most advanced on earth." Winn grinned.

Alex tilted her head back and took a big gulp of her beer before letting a satisfied groan and laying her arm on the back of the couch, where Lena was sitting and gave her a pointed look. "You'd look really hot in an Atlantean body suit."

Lena laughed nervously and hid her blushing face in her hand. Kara narrowed her eyes at her sister and reached out to take the bottle from her hands. "I think that's enough alcohol for the night, Alex."

"Noo! I'm fine, I promise." Alex moved it away. "And I wasn't wrong anyway."

Kara huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back on the arm of the couch. She spent the rest of the night that way, glaring at her sister and the way she blatantly flirted with her best friend in jealousy. Lena walked them to the door later, nonchalantly throwing in the fact that her brother is also the king, she cut Winn off before he even said anything with an accusing finger and a pointed look saying. "No suit." Before slamming the door in his face.

…

Alex dropped Winn off at his apartment and was driving to her sister's when she finally caught on to the fact that her sister was upset. At her specifically. "What's up with you?" she asked.

Kara stubbornly stayed quiet for a few minutes before she couldn't hold it in anymore. "What's up with me?! What's up with you?!" she retorted sarcastically.

"I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about." Alex replied.

"You were flirting with Lena all night!" Kara stated accusingly.

"So?"

"So?! So, you can't do that!" Kara snapped.

"Why the fuck not, Kara?" Alex furrowed her eyebrows, confused. Her sister never used that tone with her. Alex pulled over and stopped the car to look at her. Kara's eyes were glaring at her fists in her lap, lips pursed in a tight light and she refused to meet Alex's concerned gaze. "Kara." Alex said gently.

"Lena is MY friend, Alex. My friend." Kara said firmly, her shoulders tensing up.

"What do you mean? She's my friend too, Kara."

"No!" Kara shook her head, looking up. "No. you were just wary of her being a Luthor weeks ago. You can't just decide to suddenly like and flirt with her."

"Kara-"

"No, Alex! She's MY friend. My BEST friend. And you can't take her from me. I can't lose her as Kara too."

"You're not losing her, Kara." Alex said. "I like her, and I can feel she likes me too-"

"She's mine, Alex. You can't have her." The glare Alex is receiving made her hesitate to say or do anything for a second. She even wondered if her sister was affected by red kryptonite again. She could swear she could see the hint of a burning glow behind those blue eyes. But before she could reach out to calm her sister, the passenger door was open and the blonde stepped, slamming the door behind her and launching herself into the sky.

"Oh Kara." Alex slumped back into her seat with a heavy sigh.

…

After the three had left, Lena sat alone on her couch contemplating what they said to her with a glass of wine. Should she go to Atlantis? Lena would be lying if she said she wasn't at least curious. She wanted to see for herself what could've been her home. She wanted to explore her powers and learn about her biology; she spent her entire life thinking she was a human when only a part of her was. Maybe she could make connections to several past instances that she felt somewhat… alienated from everyone else. Perhaps this is the reason? Or maybe Lena was just that socially awkward?

She remembers that Lex used to be suspicious of her for some reason. She never understood why as a child, but never got to ponder it more as she grew older since Lex moved away to metropolis after their Father's passing.

Lena gulped down the wine that remained in her glass before making her way to the kitchen and pulling out the sharpest knife she had. Lena stared at it with a mixture of fear and excitement. Mother said human made weapons wouldn't hurt her, including kitchen cutlery. She carefully placed her left pinkie on the tip of the knife before taking a deep breath through her nose and pressing down on the knife.

Nothing happened. Lena looked at the knife that was pressing dangerously on her finger with wide eyes. It should've pierced the skin and made her bleed. It didn't. It didn't sting and didn't even give a dull throb of pain. Lena pressed harder, Still nothing. Lena put the knife down.

She wanted to test out breathing under water, but she wasn't going to do that alone. She might accidentally drown herself and no one would know. She'd save that for later. Hopefully with her mother. But Lena was too impatient. The previous experiment left her craving for more. So, she headed outside and to the ocean to pay her mother a visit.

Lena took her bike and rode it to a private part of the National City beach, which she owned. Bought specifically for her mother along with a spacious beach house for her to stay in should she ever wish to. It was mostly because Lena wanted to have her mother around without overwhelming her with the busy life of the city. Lena couldn't leave for Atlantis whenever she wished to see her mother and Atlanna understood that. So, that is where Atlanna stayed for the time being. At least until her daughter made up her mind about the visit to Atlantis.

The bike's headlight alerted the blonde woman to a visitor, Atlanna waited patiently for Lena to enter. Giving her a tight welcoming hug when she finally did. "Hello, sweetheart." Atlanna greeted. "What brings you here so late?"

Lena smiled. "I came to see if you liked the house. Is everything to your liking?"

"Yes, of course. Maybe a bit too big for only myself." Atlanna replied. "I sometimes find myself wishing for the life you and your brother's belongings as children brought to my homes."

"I can arrange for everything in our old home to be brought here!" Lena perked up.

Atlanna shook her head. "No need to trouble yourself, dear."

"It's no trouble at all, Mother." Lena protested. "I can have them here by tomorrow."

"If you insist. It would be nice to have those memories again." Atlanna smiled. "But is something troubling you, Angel? You wouldn't have sought me out so late if it wasn't important." She said knowingly.

"Actually, Mother, there is something I wish to discuss with you."

"What's on your mind?"

"I've been thinking. And I want to go to Atlantis." Lena felt her heart beating loudly.

"Really? What changed your mind?"

"My friends." Lena smiled fondly. "They think I should go see Atlantis at least once. And I do too."

"It's settled then." Atlanna nodded happily. "We shall go to Atlantis. I will contact your brothers to let them know we are coming."

Lena grinned. "Give me a few days to arrange for my leave at Lcorp and then we can be off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, I said I'd tell you what ship I'm leaning towards in the previous chapter. It's not definite but I'm liking AgentCorp at the moment. A lot of you wanted it too.   
> Tell me what you think because comments make me want to update more.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena finally meets Arthur!  
> I literally wrote this in a few hours after I replied to some comments. Enjoy!

A few days have passed since the night at Lena's and Kara's abrupt leave, and since then Alex hasn't heard anything from her sister. She had been patient and understanding, giving Kara space and several attempts at talking has ended in Kara simply speed walking away. Well not today. Alex was going to put her foot down and not allow Kara to leave this time. They were going to talk about what happened and they were going to resolve this situation like adults.

"Aah!"

A startled Kara fell to the floor with the mattress of her bed flopping on her seconds later. "Hey! What's your problem?!" Kara snapped in annoyance, rolling out from under the big mattress.

Alex stood on the other side of the bed with her arms crossed with a stern look on her face. She rolled her eyes at the complaints that soon followed a pillow flung at her face, which she expertly dodged. "What was that a few days ago, Kara?!" Alex impatiently asked. "You act like that, leave all of a sudden and then ignore me for days?!"

Kara huffed. She didn't have to explain herself to anyone.

Alex frowned. She sighed and walked around the bed to stand before her sister, who was glaring at the floor, avoiding her stare and gripping the blanket around her legs tightly. "Kara, please. I'm worried about you." She tried once more. Kara's lip started forming a stubborn pout. "I brought ice cream, your favorite. How about we talk about this while we eat?" She asked gently.

Alex sat on the couch smugly across from her blonde sister who was stuffing her mouth with ice cream. She knew that when there is conflict with her sister, bribe Kara with food.

"So…" Alex spoke.

"So?" Kara repeated.

"So, speak." Alex said.

"What do you want me to say, Alex?!" Kara whined.

"I want you to tell me why you acted like a jealous ex when I said I liked Lena. And why you thought it was a good idea to fly away in your civilian clothes."

"I- I… I don't know."

"Stop lying to me." Alex stated.

"Alex-"

"No, Kara. Tell me why. You risked exposing your identity back there. Anyone could have seen your face." Alex said. "You ignored me for days. I was really worried."

"I- I… " Kara swallowed. "I don't want you and Lena to date." She admitted.

"Why?"

"Because!" She started, clearly frustrated. "You two are my favorite people. I'll be all alone if you started dating. A- And I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?"

"I'm scared that when Lena finds out about Supergirl, she'll never want to see me again." Kara bit her lip. "She's the most important person to me, Alex, she won't need me if she has you. You won't need me if you have her. I'll be losing both of you-"

"Stop it right there!" Alex cut off. "You won't be losing either of us."

"Yes, I will." Kara swallowed, blinking away the sting at her eyes.

"No, you won't." Alex shook her head. "As much as I like Lena, I'll never stay with someone who hates my baby sister." She looked Kara in the eyes to assure her. "But I know she won't. Not for long anyways. You just need to trust that she won't, put your faith in her. Lena hasn't let any of us down yet."

Kara's lips trembled, she closed her eyes and took a shaky breath to stop a sob from escaping. Alex was right. Lena never let anyone down when they depended on her, trusted her. She has to tell her "I'll tell her."

"Good." Alex smiled and gathered her little sister into her arms. "About time you do."

"I love her, Alex." Kara whimpered and Alex felt something grip at her heart. That did not sound platonic at all. Was Kara even aware of how that sounded?

Their bonding moment was interrupted by their phones buzzing simultaneously. Alex took out hers from her pocket while Kara wiped at her eyes. "It's from Lena." She opened the text and adjusted the position of the phone so Kara could see.

'I'll be leaving this weekend to Atlantis!'

Kara's face turned white.

…

Lena crossed the sandy shore to the lone beach house in the middle. She'd been messaged by her mother to come over with a change of clothes and swim wear. They were going to let Lena connect with the sea at last. To say that Lena was nervous was an understatement.

"Mother!"

Lena called out to her mother who was apparently talking to a tall muscular, blond man. He had long hair and his arms were covered in tattoos as far as Lena could tell from the distance she's at. He was looking around the beach, contemplating the scenery and surveying the area.

"Mother, who is this?" Lena asked once she was near enough. Her hands gripped the bag that contained the change of clothes she's brought along.

The man turned around with a large grin. He glanced at Atlanna to see if she'd introduce him. Atlanna smiled and gestured to him. "Lena, this is your eldest brother, Arthur."

"Nice to meet you, sis." Arthur smiled before wrapping her in a hug. Lena's eyes widened and she stood there awkwardly waiting for him to let go.

"Arthur was nearby, and I called him to help you awaken your powers." Atlanna explained.

"I was visiting my dad." Arthur added.

"So, off you go, children." Atlanna smiled and shooed them away.

Lena was about to protest that Atlanna couldn't leave her with a stranger who she didn't know but stopped herself before she embarrassed herself. This was her brother, not some stranger. Still, Lena didn't really know him. He didn't know her either.

She looked helplessly at her mother, who has turned around and was already walking back to the house. Arthur seemed to be observing Lena. And she fought off the urge to spit out a self-conscious 'What?'

"You're shorter than I thought you'd be." He finally said.

Lena blushed. It was true. Both sides of her family were considered tall. Lena was the only one who was short amongst her family. "I guess the tall genes skipped me." She shrugged.

He laughed good naturally and gave her a gentle slap on the back. Gentle to him at least. Lena stumbled forward and almost dropped her bag.

"Anyways, you ready to dive into the water?" He asked.

"Dive? We're diving?" Lena asked anxiously. "I can't swim."

"Well you'll learn." He walked off, mentioning for her to follow him after she changed. Lena dropped the bag and took off her shirt, shoes and accessories, making sure to put them away in the bag. She was now wearing cargo shorts and a tank top. She fast walked to catch up to Artur who was now on top of a cliff that overlooked the sea. Lena made sure to be away from any edges.

"What are you doing? Come over here." He said mentioning for her to come closer. Lena looked at him like he was crazy. She was not going close to the slippery edges.

Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulder with a grin. "Come here." They now stood a foot away from a very long fall to the water beneath. Lena held her breath, maybe if she simply didn't move nor breath, she'd be safe.

"Okay so, what you're going to do is, get a running head start and jump into the water." He explained. "Think you could do that?"

Lena frantically shook her head.

"Sure, you can!" He grinned. "Now, go!"

Lena took a deep breath and turned around to take some steps for the hear run. And ran. Fuck that. She wasn't going to jump off a cliff.

"Lena no!" Arthur ran behind her.

Ten minutes later, Arthur managed to get Lena back on the cliff. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I think maybe the cliff is too much for you."

"You think?!"

"Okay, we'll try something different then."

Lena sighed in relief.

Arthur walked up behind her. "Okay, here goes." He smirked.

"Wait what?!"

Arthur pushed her off the cliff. Lena screamed and Arthur jumped after her with an excited yell. The water surface broke with two massive splashes and Lena sank deep in her fetal position. She desperately held her breath and fumbled around for anything that she could hold onto.

"You need to calm down." Arthur's voice made her open her eyes in surprise.

"You can speak underwater?!" Lena squeaked. "I can speak underwater?!"

Arthur chuckled. Those were his exact words years ago. "Yes."

"I'm gonna kill you!" Lena glared. "When I get my hands on you."

Arthur laughed. "Look at what you're doing though."

"What?" Lena asked and looked at her body. Her arms were out in a stiff attempt to stay afloat, but her legs were moving smoothly to keep her anchored to her position.

"You're an Atlantean, Lena." Arthur said. "You'll never drown."

"Oh my god." Lena said shakily.

"Now that swimming class is out of the way, how about you start swimming like a real Atlantean?" He smirked and before Lena could reply, he sped away at an incredible speed. Lena felt the waves push her back. "Try to catch up!"

"W- Wait!" Lena took several attempts to adjust her stance before successfully zooming behind Arthur. Heart beating loudly at the thrill. Lena's eyes took in her surroundings, everything was clear as day. Swimming faster until Arthur's figure was visible ahead. Golden flecked Green eyes zeroed in on the Atlantean ahead and Lena moved her limbs harder, gaining speed until she passed by Arthur who was swimming around waiting for her.

Arthur stopped. "Yeah, keep it up!" He cheered. "Jump above the water!"

Lena did in her excitement, only realizing her actions in the air. She flailed as she descended and crashed into the water once again. Arthur caught up and grabbed her arm to keep her from swimming off. "That was great! Not the most graceful but we'll work on that."

Lena could only give a barely contained excited smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I rushed through this so if there's any mistakes, my bad.  
> Leave a comment to get the next chapter faster lol.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baack! You guys should know that when you see me replying to comments, I'm probably done or almost done writing a chapter. So, if I reply to you, It's like a reminder notif lol.  
> By the way, if you guys want to see any particular scenes/situations, please tell me, it'll be a huge help because i won't have to think of every situation on my own lol.

Training sessions with Arthur had been going for the entire week up until the day they were supposed to leave for Atlantis. It came as a pleasant surprise that Lena adapted very quickly to being an Atlantean. Arthur considered testing her out with a trident but decided not to. He didn't want to dump too many things on her all at once. So, he settled with swimming lessons and some hand to hand combat, Atlantis style.

"You know, maybe I could get Mera to test you out in controlling water. I was never able to do it." Arthur said absentmindedly, floating in the water while Lena was doing a few laps around to improve her swimming coordination. They thought it was probably important after Lena crashed into a big boulder during their last training session.

"Mother mentioned that to me." Lena stopped by her brother. "Why can't you do it though? I thought you were the strongest Atlantean."

"No, not really. Being half Atlantean and half human has some perks but I'm not the strongest Atlantean." Arthur said. "It just seems that way because I also have Atlan's trident. After I wielded it, I was able to command the sea."

"Wow." Lena breathed out in awe. "Who's Mera by the way?"

"Oh, she's my wife."

"You're married?!" Lena asked in shock.

"Yeah, been together for around ten years now." Arthur nodded with a smile. "Which is still kinda weird because she used to be Orm's fiancée."

Lena just stared at him with wide eyes. Well that was new.

"I think we should head back now." Arthur continued, not noticing the look he was getting from the brunette. "Mom wants us back for dinner."

Lena's chest was immediately filled with warmth at those words and she wholeheartedly agreed.

…

Kara and Alex were having a sister's night at Kara's. They have scattered pizza boxes and Chinese takeout containers lying around while they watched this anime Kara insisted they watch after Winn recommended it to her.

"I can't believe you're actually making me watch cartoons with you when we could watch the new Game of Thrones season." Alex complained as she slumped on the couch with her noodles box cradled in her hands.

"They're not cartoons, you uncultured swine!" Kara retorted. "They're called Anime. And they're amazing."

"Whatever, dork." Alex snorted and took out her phone to take a video of Kara yelling along with the protagonist in perfect Japanese. She sent it to their group chat which had Kara, herself, Winn and Lena in it. With the caption 'you're dead, Winn.'

She rolled her eyes when she received an excited flood of texts about how happy he was that finally someone appreciates anime for the art form they are, and blatantly ignoring her death threat.

"You're both dorks." She muttered quietly to herself and opening a different social media app, which happened to be Instagram. The home page popped up with an image that had Alex quickly sitting up to inspect it before the page reloaded and being replaced by the latest post. "No, no, where is it?!" Alex swiped down, determined to find it.

"What's up?" Kara asked, noticing her sister's posture and constant swiping.

"Ahah, Found it!" Alex cheered and scanned over thee picture quickly before blushing and mumbling a quiet "wow."

"What? What is it?" Kara curiously asked again. Alex simply showed her the screen. "Is that Lena?!"

"Apparently." Alex said, not taking her eyes off the post. The picture was taken from quite a long distance, it was at a beach were Lena was walking out of the water wearing a black sleeveless top and short, black swimming shorts. Her hair was wet and slicked back and she was apparently looking off to the side at someone or something. "Wow, how did they even take this picture?"

"Send this to me." Kara said pressing the share button underneath the post and sending it to herself. "You know how the paparazzi are, they want as much content as possible." She shrugged.

"Damn, look at how much likes and comments this picture has." Alex was genuinely impressed.

"pfft that's nothing." Kara shrugged off. "You should see the Lena Luthor fan accounts people make."

"Fan accounts?!"

"Yeah, Winn told me about them." Kara said. "You won't believe how many people are always talking about Lena. It's crazy."

"Wow, Lena has so many fans." Alex's eyebrows rose in amusement after she pressed the Lena Luthor hashtag. Most of the pictures are old press photos, some of them of Lena outside in public but there are some that had Alex seriously concerned. Like, pictures of a very young Lena in a school uniform or of her back when she wasn't CEO of Lcorp. "How do people even find these?"

"Dunno, but they're a good source of publicity for Lena and Lcorp." Kara said pulling out her own phone. "Miss Grant says Lena has been the number one 'celebrity' in National City lately."

"Does Lena know about this?"

"I don't think so." Kara answered. "She doesn't use social media so she wouldn't really know unless someone tells her."

"I think we should tell her about this." Alex said. "She does deserve to know. And I hope she'll feel a bit better after seeing that not everyone is judging her based on her name."

"Good idea." Kara agreed.

Their phones continued to chime with incoming notifications from their group chat and Alex was about to go tell Winn to shut up and stop being such a weeb, but she paused when she saw that it was a picture from Lena.

It was a picture of herself smiling at the camera with a buff blonde man and a caption saying, 'Arthur says hi!'

"Oh, Rao! That's Aquaman!" Kara gasped.

"Damn." Alex said. "Winn should seriously stop acting like a fangirl or I'll kick him out of the group."

"Stop being mean to him." Kara swatted her sister's shoulder. "He's just excited."

"I don't care. I don't want my phone consistently buzzing all day like some sort of vibrator."

…

Lena smiled at her phone after she sent the picture she just took with Arthur. She had taken the day off to prepare for her leave to Atlantis the next day, and she was supposed to stay the night so they could leave the next morning. "My friends say hi back." She told Arthur.

Arthur hummed before sitting down beside her and looking seriously into her eyes. "I know you're nervous about going to Atlantis. I was too when I went the first time."

"W- Well yeah, it is pretty scary to think about." Lena nervously said.

"What's scary to you?"

"I'm not sure." Lena shrugged. "The fact that it'll be obvious that I don't belong there. I'm not like them, what if they don't like me?"

"Well they'd be morons not to like you. And besides, if anyone has a problem with you, they'd have to go trough me, Orm and mom first." Arthur assured. "Speaking of Orm, he really wants to see you. He was pissed at me for coming here and not telling him."

"Why didn't you?"

"It wasn't intentional." Arthur quickly defended. "I was heading back to Atlantis when Mom mentioned that you were starting to come over regularly. I asked for the location coordinates and saw that it's on my way and decided to drop in."

"Oh, well I really want to see him too." Lena smiled lightly.

"Just a warning though, he's a real stuck up smartass-" Arthur playfully said.

"Arthur." Atlanna cut off.

"Sorry, Mom." He apologized with a sheepish grin.

"He sounds way nicer than Lex so," Lena shrugged.

"Who's that?"

"Lex is my brother." Lena answered.

"No way!" Arthur said. "There's another brother I have to compete with in order to be your favorite?!"

"Well you and Orm are way better in the short time I've known you than Lex has been for the past few years." Lena deadpanned.

"Really? Why is that?" Arthur asked.

"Well, both of you haven't tried to kill me yet so that's a big reason." Lena sarcastically said. "And you also didn't manipulate me or tried to frame me for murder. Oh, and you're not in jail for killing innocent people."

"Damn." Arthur said. "Your life must've been hard huh?" He asked sympathetically.

"Mhmm."

"Well, Orm and I were in a fight to the death the first time we met."

"Really? What for?" Lena asked. Was killing each other a normal sibling thing or was this just in her family?

"Orm was supposed to be the king of Atlantis after his dad died. And I, a half breed, his older half brother came to take his throne from him." Arthur explained. "He and the rest of Atlantis didn't like that. I think he was just mad at me for being the reason mom was taken from us."

"Oh."

"I really didn't want to be king; I honestly didn't even want to go to Atlantis at all."

"Why did you become king then?"

"It was either that or let the surface get attacked and I couldn't leave my home to be destroyed."

"What did you think of Atlantis the first time you went there?" Lena asked.

"Well, I didn't have time to go sightseeing, going to take over the throne and all" He joked "But from what I saw it was really beautiful. It still is, even after living there for over ten years. I really hope you'll like it."

"I'm sure I'll love it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm wondering which scenes do you guys like best. Lena scenes or Danvers scenes? I'll keep them both but I want to see which ones I should make longer.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena finally goes to Atlantis! This is twice the amount of a normal chapter.  
> I worked on this right after I came back from College and it's now 2 am. I wanted to post it as soon as possible because I was excited. So, please tell me what you think in a comment.  
> If there are any mistakes, I'm sorry. I didn't proofread this.

They've left for Atlantis hours ago. Lena woke up extra early in her excitement and insisted they leave the moment everyone had finished their breakfast. She felt silly, like a child on their first field trip, but she didn't care. Not when she was sitting in an Atlantean vehicle not like anything she'd ever seen before. She wondered if they'd let her pop open the hood and inspect the parts inside when they arrived.

Lena prided herself in being able to school her features to a neutral face no matter what she was feeling. But right now, she tossed that aside and was happily grinning as she inspected the depths of the ocean as they advanced towards their destination.

"Are you excited, dear?" Atlanna asked from her seat between her two children.

"Yes, Mother!" Lena looked back with a shine in her eyes. "We haven't arrived yet but I'm already thankful I've taken the time to visit Atlantis."

"I know you've had doubts about fitting in, Lena." Atlanna stated. "but I want you to know that you are apart of the royal family. Whether some people like it or not, you are to receive the same treatment your brothers have."

"Royal family?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. You're actually a princess!" Arthur grinned at her from his seat at the control panel.

Lena's first reaction was to cringe. Being a princess sounded horrible. Maybe it was because the first thing she would associate with the word 'princess' is Disney films. "Oh." She definitely won't mention this to her friends. She knew she'd be relentlessly teased.

"You don't sound very thrilled." Atlanna said.

"Oh, uh. How long until we reach Atlantis?" Lena asked to change the subject.

"Not long. It's right up ahead." Arthur replied.

Lena sat up in her seat and looked forward in anticipation. This is it. They've reached Atlantis. Lena softly gasped at the sight. The city was very vibrant in Lena's opinion, it seemed to glow with light. Buildings were attached to the walls of a wide pathway, leading to a very long bridge with a very high wall on the opposite side. Lena wondered why they would need a bridge underwater if anyone could just swim over it. Plenty of statues decorated the sides said bridge and the top of the giant wall. All statues held tridents and Lena in wonder at the amazing detail on them.

She could see groups of aquatic animals swimming just above the city. It was fascinating to see that the creatures were not afraid of the citizens, they lived in peace and in no fear of them. Lena briefly wondered if the same could ever happen on the surface.

They've entered the city now. And Lena could not describe anything more beautiful.

"Welcome to Atlantis!"

…

At the DEO, Alex stood leaning on a wall in the training room while her agents did their daily drills. She was on her phone, mindlessly scrolling through her Instagram feed. Ever since that night at Kara's with the picture of Lena, she'd been intrigued. And a little curious. She couldn't believe how popular Lena is with the people of National city. While it's true that most of them like her based on her good looks -Alex can understand why they would, Lena was fucking gorgeous- a decent amount of them were genuinely defending her because they thought she was a good person.

Alex spent all morning reading articles online about why Lena Luthor deserved to be treated with respect instead of the hostility her family is known for. And she admittedly went through more pictures than was considered friendly, but no one needed to know that.

One particular article piqued her interest though. It was titled "Lena Luthor Not Human?" It spoke of some very old resurfacing evidence found in a Lena kidnapping when she was young. Showing photos of a bent knife with torn fabrics around an unconscious Lena, the shreds obviously belonging to Lena's shirt which looked like it had been stabbed multiple times while Lena was perfectly fine.

Alex sent the URL to Winn with a 'delete this off the internet immediately'. They couldn't afford the word of this getting out and Lena becoming a target for the media once again. Things were just looking up for her.

Alex stared at a picture of Lena in her college days, Lena was younger than a standard university student of course, graduating school and starting college at 15. She looed cute with very minimal to no make up and wearing square glasses that gave her a cute nerd vibe. But that wasn't what Alex was looking at. No, she was looking at Lena's mouth, specifically inside her mouth. Lena had a tongue piecing.

"Hot damn." Alex whispered.

"What was that?" Kara asked, appearing out of nowhere next to Alex in her super suit.

"Oh my god!" Alex gasped and almost dropped her phone. "DON'T… sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry." Kara shrugged, not sounding apologetic at all. "What are you looking at that's got you so zoned out?"

"N- Nothing!"

Kara raised an eyebrow, that didn't sound like nothing. She smirked and stole Alex's phone using her superspeed. "You're looking at pictures of Lena?!" Kara asked.

"NO. I was not!" Alex snatched her phone back and pocketed it.

"Yes, you were!"

"Shut up." Alex's cheeks lit up in a bright blush and just before Kara could say anything Alex continued. "Why are you skipping training anyway? You're supposed to be in the red sunroom."

"But Alex!" Kara whined. Forgetting what they were just talking about. "Training sucks! It's so hard."

"Yes, it sucks to be human, but you need it." Alex cleared her throat. "Come with me." She walked past her alien sister and out of the room.

…

A tall blond man stood waiting for them at the gates with a shorter dark-haired man. Lena briefly thought how unfair that literally everyone in her family was at least a head taller than her before she looked at the man's features closely as they got closer to him. He had a schooled calm expression, but she could clearly see the happiness in his eyes as they laid on Atlanna. Lena assumed this was her brother, Orm.

"Brother, you had a good journey back to Atlantis I assume?" Orm spoke.

"Yup!" Arthur smirked.

"You couldn't bother to tell me you had a change of direction on the way back?" Orm's lips were pursed.

"I forgot." Was Arthur's reply.

Lena could see the clench of Orm's jaw before he rolled his eyes at his older brother's antics and turned to Atlanna and embracing her in a hug and muttering. "Welcome back, Mother." With a small hint of a smile. Lena's lips tugged upward at the gesture. Yup, definitely better than Lex.

"Orm," Atlanna greeted. "How have you been, my son."

"I've been well, Mother." Orm's eyes softened as he looked at his mother. "What about you?"

"Oh, I have never been better!" Atlanna smiled widely. "My children are all well and around me."

Lena was feeling left out and had been awkwardly scanning the room in fascination while the others spoke, but her attention was jerked back at the comment which made Orm's eyes move from his mother to the nervous girl behind her. Lena attempted to smile but it came out as a nervous half smile. Orm was much more intimidating than Arthur.

"You must be Angelina." Orm addressed her.

"Y- Yes. Please call me Lena though." She offered her hand for a handshake.

"My name is Orm, the sea master." He spoke before engulfing her in a firm hug. "There is no need for such awkwardness, sister. We are family."

Lena hugged back hesitantly and hoped her pounding heart wasn't as loud as she thought it was. She was about to point out that he didn't give Arthur a hug when he addressed them but decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Bro hug!" Arthur cheered when he saw the scene and threw his arms around both of his younger siblings. Orm grunted while Lena blushed, trying to hide her amused grin.

"Release me at once, Arthur!" Orm ordered but didn't squirm because he still had Lena in his arms.

"You can't order your king around, kid." Arthur snickered.

"Children please." Atlanna chuckled with the dark-haired man as they took in the sight. "We must start the tour, or we won't have the time later."

Arthur released his younger siblings and sheepishly walked up to the two elder figures. Orm gently released the brunette and ran a hand over his crumbled shirt. "I apologize for Arthur's actions. He means well."

"I really don't mind." Lena smiled up at Orm. She had a feeling he didn't really mind as well. "I quite liked it."

"Oh. I'm glad then." Orm smiled gently at her. "Come, we have plenty to show you."

"Lena," Arthur called. "Come meet Vulko. He was Orm and I's mentor as we grew up."

Vulko bowed his head slightly with a smile and said. "Pleased to meet you, princess."

Lena's eyes widened at the title. "Please, just call me Lena. There's no need for titles."

"Very well." Vulko nodded. "Shall we start then?"

"Yes." Lena nodded excitedly.

"We'll begin with the history of Atlantis." Vulko announced. "It is important for you to know this as an Atlantean."

"Alright."

"It all started with Atlan's trident" Vulko started. "It was forged by the greatest weapon master's in history, crafted from Poseidon steel for King Atlan, the first ruler of Atlantis." He showed her a scroll page with s picture of the trident. "Legend says it was imbued with the power to command the sea."

Lena glanced to her side and saw Arthur grinning proudly and mouthing. 'I have that' to her.

"King Atlan ruled a time of prosperity and technological advancements, we have unlocked the secret of unlimited energy at a time where the rest of the world still thought the world was flat." Lena's cheeks puffed slightly, should she interrupt and say that some people still thought the earth was flat? Probably not. "But we became too ambitious, too hungry for power. The ocean swallowed us, and Atlantis sank. But the very power that collapsed our civilization also paved the way to our future."

"It gave us the ability to breathe underwater. And so, we evolved. Others regressed and became savage." Lena stared intently at the pictures Vulko was flipping through. The creatures sketched on the paper were not something she'd like to run into anytime soon "And the King lived the remainder of his days in self imposed exile. Neither he nor the trident were ever seen again. Until King Arthur found that is."

Lena glanced at Arthur once again before turning her gaze back to Vulko. "Tell me more please."

"All in time, child." Vulko chuckled. "That'll be enough history for now. We will show you the facilities now."

"Can we start at an auto shop?" Lena perked up with a hopeful smile. She really wanted to see how their machinery worked.

"Of course." He nodded. "Whatever you want."

…

"Oof!"

Kara was slammed into the ground with a loud grunt. She and Alex had been sparring in the red sunroom for about an hour or two now and Kara was getting frustrated. She knows that Alex suggested this exercise routine to J'onn just to get a chance to kick her ass and show off that she's a more skilled hand to hand combatant.

"Is that all you've got?" Alex said. "Get up."

Kara muttered under her breath before pushing herself up and assuming her defensive pose and glared at the red head. "I really hate you; you know."

"Love you too." Alex smirked. "Fists up."

"Ugh can we just stop?!" Kara whined. "We've been doing this for hours. I'm tired. And I'm sore."

"Nothing a yellow sun lamp can't fix." Alex shrugged.

"No!" Kara stomped her foot and walked to the door. "I don't want to continue. I will go and I will get myself some donuts to make up for all the abuse I've been getting all day."

"I hope you get fat!" Alex called.

"Not on this planet!" Kara called back as she closed the door.

Alex shook her head and turned off the red sun mode on a nearby screen, changing the lights in the room from a deep red to a regular white. She checked her phone for a reply from Winn about the article she sent. Winn replied with a thumbs up and a 'Done!'. Alex let out a relieved sigh.

The last thing Lena needed when she came back was the media suspecting and investigating her.

…

The tour took most of the day. Vulko being her consistent tour guide while her family's presence was requested elsewhere throughout the day. Some time in the middle of the tour, Arthur came back with a beautiful tall redhead which he introduced as his wife Mera.

"I spoke to Mera about the water control thing and she was all up for teaching you if you want." Arthur said. "She's currently the best at it. But I'm sure you can beat her." He winked and pretended to be hurt when Mera slapped his arm. "I'll leave you ladies to it then. Mom will join you two later though"

Mera led Lena to a room with no water as it's environment. Lena was slightly surprised that they had these types of rooms. She assumed since they are in the depths of the ocean, water will be everywhere.

"This room was cleared of water for specific reasons." Mera explained. "There are a lot more rooms like this here."

"I just didn't realize Atlanteans were ok with air." Lena said. "I assumed they preferred being in the water."

"We do." Mera agreed. "But breathing air is not a luxury for all Atlanteans."

Lena was about to ask about what she meant when a few servants came in the room in what Lena would describe as reverse scuba diving suits. "Oh."

"Okay. We begin with a brief explanation on how controlling water works." Mera led her to a small stream of water that went through some vents to the other room. She gestured for her to walk in it. "Most people find it hard to do is because they are trying to force the water to move. Water is fluid, it is constantly moving and so you must be able to feel the water around you and replicate it's movement with your body."

Oh ok. That did not sound hard at all, Lena thought.

"Stay still for a few seconds and try not to move." Mera ordered. Lena stood in the water, waist deep and tried not to move along the push and pull of the tide. "You feel that? The waves are moving you whether you like it or not. So, what you must do is instead of fighting it, let it move you and it will let you move it in return."

That made sense, Lena supposed. She relaxed her body.

"Simple right?" Mera smiled. "Now while you're still in sync with the water, I will teach you a basic move." Mera stepped into the water next to Lena. "I learned how to do this myself, and while it is simple don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away."

Lena watched intently the demonstration Mera proceeded to do. A simple push and pull wave motion. "The key is to get the wrist movement right." Mera said. Lena felt confident enough to do that. It seemed simple enough. Lena mirrored Mera's movements and was delighted to see a small bump on the water surface moving along to her arms.

"Hey I'm doing it!" Lena grinned.

"That's almost right." Mera looked at Lena's wave. "If you keep practicing, I'm sure you'll eventually-"

Lena's wave got bigger as her confidence grew. The size was twice the size of Mera's.

"Wow I can't believe you learned that so quickly." Mera's tone was shocked. "It took me two months to be able to do this when I first started."

"Oh." Lena could hear the disappointment in Mera's voice. "Well, you had to figure it out on your own. I'm lucky to have a great teacher."

"Thanks."

"So, what's next?"

"This is a bit more difficult." Mera pulled a small stream of water out and started to move it around to show Lena. "It is a bit harder so don't be disappointed if-"

Lena was already doing it.

"Good work." Mera praised. "Though the fancy swirls were unnecessary."

"sorry." Lena apologized sheepishly. "Well, don't stop now. Keep them coming." She grinned.

"Hey what do you know, Lena is already beating you, Love." Arthur's voice came from the doorway. He stood there with Atlanna and a smirk on his face.

Mera rolled her eyes at her husband and waved to her mother in law before turning to Lena. "Ok, I have another basic move I could teach you. The idea is to create a big, powerful wave." Mera demonstrated her move and waited for Lena to do the same.

"Like this?" Lena fluidly raised her arms and the water followed her command, moving across the room and casting a shadow over her brother who had his back turned to them at the moment. Arthur turned around and his warning was swallowed by the water.

"Lena-!"

Atlanna, who was smart enough to move away, laughed. "Okay dear, I think that's enough for today."

"But Mom!" Lena pouted.

"I'm sure Mera will teach you more later, dear." Atlanna said, Mera nodding her head with a kind smile. "I'll be accompanying you to the library now. I'm sure you'll have just as much fun there."

"Okay then." Lena nodded and waddled out of the stream. "Thank you, Mera, truly. I really appreciate your help."

"It was my pleasure." Mera smiled.

"Let's go, Lena." Atlanna grabbed her daughter's hand and led her out of the room with a goodbye to her son and his wife.

...

Atlanna was right about Lena having as much fun in the library as she would have playing with water. Lena knew she was being a big nerd right now, but she didn't care. This was awesome. Her arms were filled with heavy leather-bound books as she walked along the massive bookcases. She just kept finding interesting books and she just had to read them all!

"Honey, don't you think this is a bit much?"

"Not at all!" Lena replied giddily, dropping the books on a nearby table, sitting down and opening the one at the top of the pile. Most of them were biology and engineering books, Lena was determined to learn as much as she could about Atlantis in the limited time her weekend would provide. And there is no greater source for knowledge than a book!

"Well, I'll leave you to it, I suppose." Atlanna smiled fondly. "Please don't forget about dinner, your brothers have a surprise for you afterwards."

"Okay, Mother." Lena nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena in Atlantis will carry on the next chapter so stay tuned!  
> Please tell me what you liked most, and if you have any thoughts. Your comments motivate me to write faster :).


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit short but i wanted to post it quickly because I wanted to announce something. I'll be removing the Lena/Kara and Lena/Alex tags from the story.  
> It doesn't sound like much and some of you might be concerned as to why I will do such a thing. It's because a lot of people come to read the story thinking it'll be a romance and are quite disappointed that it's not. I'll remove the tags and when they're needed, I'll put them back.  
> Meanwhile, those who don't want to continue reading the story, I'm sorry to see you go but I feel like this is necessary. And to those who will still stick with it, I really appreciate your support.  
> I have some big plans that I've been wanting to do and I have been just waiting on the finale. Now that it's done, the plot will be moving at a much faster pace.  
> Enjoy.

As Atlanna assumed, Lena did forget about dinner in her excitement to read about her kind. Instead of sending a servant to retrieve her daughter, Atlanna decided to go herself. The first thing she saw once the door was open, was Lena floating in the middle of the room with her legs crossed and nose deep into the pages of a thick, leather-bound book with a stack of similar books floating next to her.

"Having fun, dear?" Atlanna asked in amusement.

Lena's head snapped up at the voice and all the books she's been keeping around her dipped down in the water and started floating away. Lena smiled and went to greet her mother with a hug.

"We're about to start dinner." Atlanna stated. "Why don't you take a break and join us?"

"Of course!" Lena grinned. "Sorry for making everyone wait."

Lena put down her book and gathered the scattered ones. She and Atlanna walked together to the dining room, which was thankfully cleared from water. Lena didn't know what food they ate here but she didn't like the idea of eating wet and soggy food.

Arthur, Orm and Mera were already at the table. The spouses speaking in hushed whispers while Orm was giving strict instructions to a nearby servant.

"Look who decided to stop being a nerd!" Arthur teased once he saw them.

"Sorry, I got carried away." Lena blushed, walking closer to the table. "Thank you for waiting for me."

"No worries, sister, we just arrived as well." Orm dismissed the apology with a smile.

Lena expected dinner to go awkwardly, just like the Luthor family dinners. But it wasn't to her pleasant surprise. Their food arrived only a few minutes after Lena and Atlanna sat down. Everyone started digging into their meals quietly before Mera cleared her throat and asked Lena about herself and how her life on the surface is.

"Well, I'd say mu life is pretty uninteresting." Lena replied nervously. "There isn't much to tell."

"Nonsense, we are all very curious." The redhead replied. "Tell us about your life on the surface, your life, your ambitions. Arthur lived his life on the surface, but he lived a simple life and did not have much to tell."

"Very well then." Lena nodded, unsure how to start and how much to tell. "Um, I lived with Mother in Ireland until I was four." Lena looked to her side to see Atlanna's encouraging nod. "After that, my Father, Lionel Luthor, took me in his family. Father and my older brother, Lex, were very welcoming from the start. It wasn't really the same for my adoptive mother, Lillian. Even as I was very young, I had my suspicions that Lillian greatly disliked me, I wasn't sure why, but I was certain that it was the case."

Atlanna frowned, Lena paused to take a few bites of food. She kept her gaze down. "At first, I thought it was because I was the product of an affair her husband had with another woman and I felt bad. It must've been hard to have living proof of your husband's unfaithfulness living in your home."

"Lex, however, was very different from Lillian. As much as he and Father never got along, they still would try to for my sake. I loved Lex, he was the one who always made time for me no matter how needy I was or how silly I was acting. But Lex was a teenager at the time, and he had responsibilities, such as school and business trips with Father. No matter how hard he and Father tried to be home, there would always be something that would require their attention. I would always end up Alone with Lillian at the house." Lena swallowed, deciding that it was probably for the best that she speaks of something other than the Luthors. "Father died of cancer when I was 14 and Mother sent me off to boarding school in Ireland." Lena didn't notice her slip-up by calling Lillian 'Mother'.

"Wow, that must've been hard for you huh?" Arthur asked sympathetically.

"Sort of." Lena shrugged nonchalantly.

"It sounds hard."

"Well honestly, going to a boarding school wasn't all that bad." Lena said. Mostly because she was as far away from Lillian as possible. "I graduated early and was then off to M.I.T. to study, which I also graduated early because I had to hurry up and take over the family company. By then Lex had went on his alien killing rampage and got himself in jail. Mother had degrees for medicine and not business so she couldn't run the company, no matter how much she wanted to."

"So, where is this Lillian now?" Orm asked.

"Not sure. She and her anti-alien organization had been laying low for now." All eyebrows surrounding Lena raised, as normal as Lena tried to make it sound, this was very concerning for the others. "I'm pretty confident in saying she's planning something though."

"And you're not at all worried she's planning something dangerous?" Atlanna asked in worry.

"Oh, I know she's planning something dangerous." Lena said. "It's nothing new."

"How many times has this woman posed a threat to you, sister?" Orm asked seriously.

"Not sure." She shrugged. "A lot. Why?"

"We must take precautions against this woman, that's why!"

"Oh, no no. That won't be necessary!" Lena exclaimed.

"Lena, she might do something to hurt you." Arthur said. "We can't let that happen."

"I'll be fine. I can handle myself." Lena insisted. "I promise."

"I don't like that you're not taking needed precautions to be safe, Lena." Atlanna frowned.

"I am, Mother." Lena promised. "Nothing will happen to me." She smiled reassuringly.

….

Winn sat at his desk in the DEO and bounced his leg rapidly. The Legion was back. And they wanted him to take Brainy's place in the future while he stayed back in the past.

Alex was with J'onn, he knew she was being promoted to Director. He didn't know where Kara was, but he assumed with Mon-el, sharing goodbyes. Lena is with her family in Atlantis. Everyone was moving along with their lives and all is left is himself. He had always wanted to find his calling, could this be it? To save the future and be a part of The Legion?

He sighed and rubbed his face trying to clear his head and make a reasonable response to Brainy's request.

…

Lena was luckily able to deflect any further questions about her personal life and managed to keep the discussion around Lcorp and her newest projects.

"So, Lena." Arthur begun, pushing his plate to the side. "Orm and I have been wanting to give you something all day."

"What is it?"

Arthur waved his hand to the servant by the door with a nod of his head. The door opened and two more servants came in, one carrying a stack of folded cloth while the other held an impressive, silver trident. Lena's mouth fell open.

"You're giving me a trident?! I can't use it though."

"We'll teach you." Orm stated with a smile.

"Not yet, but yes. We'll teach you how to use it." Arthur said. "I was going to wait a bit more to give it to you, but I felt like you shouldn't go back to the surface without a souvenir from Atlantis." He grinned. "Oh! And these have been chosen by Mom and Mera!" He pointed at the stack of clothes.

"Are those clothes?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Orm replied.

"What's wrong with my clothes though?" Lena asked, looking at her tank top and tight swimming shorts.

"Nothing, dear." Atlanna assured. "They're just impractical for long term use underwater."

"Oh." Lena said, sitting up and taking the top piece of clothing and unfolding it. It was a black Atlantean bodysuit. Like Atlanna and Mera's suits. "Thank you. All of you." Lena whispered and lowered the suit to look at everyone. She couldn't believe how lucky she is to be a part of this family.

"Of course, you're family." Arthur said. And Lena felt her eyes dampen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I forgot to mention in the beginning but I started posting on Tumblr now. Now before you just leave the page, I'll be mainly doing discussions about SG and other shows with some explanations for this series. If you want to know just how powerful Lena will become in this story, you could go to my page and expect that I'll be addressing it soon.   
> Other than those, I just photoshop some SG memes and stuff.  
> Here's the link if you'd like to follow me:  
> https://fandomdojo.tumblr.com/


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty Lena centric like last time. and it's still a bit shorter than I would like but come on, it's only been three days since the previous chapter and this is honestly pretty surprising, I didn't think I would ever write this fast.  
> For those who are still sticking to the story, thank you again. I'll try to post more often and get tp the drama soon.  
> Enjoy this chapter for now.

Lena and Atlanna remained in Atlantis for the rest of the weekend and Lena never felt more happier than she was right now. She stayed most of her time there in the library and some repair shops to look at the technology and was very fascinated, she thought of implementing their tech into her own cars and tech but wasn't sure they'd appreciate that.

Lena was in her Atlantean bodysuit, wandering around the bookshelves aimlessly, simply looking at the titles on the covers and thinking "I'm gonna read that when I come back here.". One book caught her attention however, it was very worn and is falling apart and barely held together, and the content was handwritten instead of printed like the others. Lena took it out and curiously skimmed through it while advancing through the library.

The book featured plenty of information about controlling water -or water bending as Lena started calling it, she thought it sounded cooler-, exercises and a lot of scattered notes and pointers. She wondered if they'd let her keep this book if she asked. Lena found herself in front of a corridor that ended with glass gate, another part of the library resided behind the door only it was dry and drained of water. The room piqued her interest so, Lena strode forward.

The door was locked. Lena raised a curious eyebrow and leaned in to press her face to the glass, hoping to get a look inside. Lena felt a bit silly at her actions, but no one was around to see her, so she continued looking through the glass door.

The room didn't look any more special than where she previously was, so why is it not accessible to everyone? She now knew that not all Atlanteans had the privilege of breathing air, so she reached the conclusion that whenever a room has an air environment, it's meant to be only usable by certain people.

Lena huffed and pulled back, turning around and leaning against the door and opening her book once more.

A few minutes passed with Lena just reading quietly against the door when she heard a voice calling her name from the opposite side of the hallway. "I'm here!" she called to whoever it was.

"Sister, what are you doing all the way here?" Orm appeared from around the corner.

"Orm!" Lena perked up and closed her book after folding a corner to bookmark her progress. "I was looking around too see the books and I found this place." She pointed behind her. "It's locked though."

"Yes, it is." Orm nodded. "You mustn't wander around alone; you can get lost."

"I'm sure someone will find me eventually." She shrugged and turned to face the door once more. "Can you get this door open for me? I really want to see inside."

"No, I cannot." Orm shook his head. "This is the restricted library. Very few people are allowed in there."

"Not even you or Arthur?" Lena questioned. Who would be more qualified to have this access than the king and the prince?

"We do have the access; we just don't prefer to go inside."

"Why though?"

"It's very… unnerving in there." Orm frowned. "I wouldn't think about this place too much if I were you?"

"But there's books inside." Lena pouted. "I just wanted to check them out."

"The library back there is very huge, I'm sure it's books will entertain you for quite a while." Orm chuckled.

"Well, can I keep this one then?" Lena asked showing her brother the book she held.

Orm scanned the item with interest before returning it to her with a shrug. "I see no reason why not. Although there are books that are in better condition than this one."

"I like this one." Lena said taking it back.

"Whatever you like then. All the items here are free for you to use as you please." Orm said. "Now come with me. Mother is waiting for you at the gates."

Lena nodded with a frown. She wished she could stay a little longer, but she knew she had to go back to her life. She had a company to run and friends who are waiting for her return. Lena will make sure she can come back soon though.

"You'll come visit Mother and I on the surface sometimes, right?" Lena asked hopefully.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes." Lena nodded.

"Then of course." Orm replied. "I'll try finding some time to come see how you live on the surface."

"Thank you, Orm." Lena smiled softly.

…

The ride back to the beach house was quiet, Lena was intently reading her new book and her fingers to make her own notes and write down her thoughts and do some experimenting of her own, rather than only read about it.

Atlanna was operating the vehicle this time, Lena did ask her about letting drive but Atlanna chuckled and shook her head saying that from what she saw in Lena's driving on the surface, she was a bit reckless and that she wanted to go home in one piece. At which Lena pouted and pretended to be offended at.

The parked the vehicle near the house, hoping that it would shield it from view even though it's underwater. And walked inside the beach house to dry off and change into normal clothes. Lena was drying her hair when she saw her phone on the couch, exactly where she left it when they left a few days ago. She turned it back on and sat down while wipe at the droplets on her neck while it powered on.

The moment it booted up, it started getting flooded with notifications. She swiped most of them away and took her time reading the e-mails from Jess and Sam to catch herself up before going to work the next morning. There was also plenty of messages from Kara, Alex and Winn dating before she left and up until a few hours ago. Lena read Kara's first.

Kara messaged her everyday of her absence with sweet texts and emojis, adorable cat and dog pictures and some funny memes. There was one picture that made her eyebrows raise in surprise. A picture of herself on the beach that she recognized from when she was done training with Arthur and leaving the ocean to go dry up at her mother's. Kara said that people on the internet are still freaking out about it.

She opened Winn's next. He didn't send as much as Kara, but he did share quite a few. Mostly nerdy things he knew she liked to read sometimes. A few updates on his DEO projects and situations. And the last few messages were dated last night, saying that he has news to share and to let him know if she's back so he could tell everyone. Lena hoped it wasn't anything bad.

She opened Alex's chat last, as it was the least number of messages. She wished her a safe trip and to have fun. She also talked about that weird online picture, which made Lena even more confused. How was it even taken? This beach was private property and heavily guarded and watched. And last, Alex said that if she wanted to hang out when she's back, to message or call.

Lena put down her towel and sent one message to their group chat to tell them that she's back and went to find her mother who was already in surface civilian clothes and wandering around the kitchen.

"Hey dear, I'm just making an early dinner." Atlanna said. "Are you staying the night? I'm sure you're too tired from the journey."

"Thank you, and no, I think it's best if I go to my place for the night. I have an early morning tomorrow."

Atlanna was disappointed but nodded in understanding. "Very well then. Dinner will be done soon, set the table please?"

"Of course."

Lena didn't pay her buzzing phone any attention during dinner because she didn't want to be rude and use it on the table, but she did sneak some glances at the screen. It was mostly Kara and Winn freaking out and spamming the chat with Alex occasionally popping in and telling them to 'Calm their tits' and Lena quietly snorted when she read it.

"Thank you for the meal, Mother." Lena said picking her plate up. "I have to leave now, but I'll come again soon." She smiled.

"Don't be a stranger, dear." Atlanna took the plate away and pecked her daughter's cheek. "Now go home and rest."

Lena left after a quick hug and walked to the side of the house to see her parked bike. She straddled the seat and put on her helmet, waving to her mother who stood at the door before driving off. The wheels screeching and causing sand to trail behind her. She didn't notice a shadow lurking at the distance, talking on a communicator and waiting for her to be out of sight before making their move.

…

Turning the lights in her apartment on, Lena threw all the items she carried with her on the couch and dragged herself to the bathroom for a much-needed hot shower. Washing the scent of the sea and relieving the stress in her sore muscles. She left the stall with a towel wrapped around her body and looked at herself in the foggy mirror with a frown. Her hair had grown back out during the weekend because she hadn't thought ahead and went to her hairdresser. The blonde roots were very visible against her dark brown, almost black hair. She sighed and went to get clothed.

She put away the Trident and Atlantean suits her family gave her -Lena still got small flutters in her stomach at the thought of her family-, throwing the used one she wore in Atlantis with her laundry along with the top and shorts.

Lena picked up the last item, which was the worn book from the library, and walked to her bedroom to get ready to sleep. She placed it on her nightstand and crawled on the bed. Lena was about to lay down when a loose page in the book caught her attention. The pages were waterproof, Lena knew that wasn't some great invention by Atlanteans, humans had those too, but it still made her feel giddy to see it.

The page contained a few scribbles of a human body and other living beings, animals and plants, with only one comment underneath them all in bold red ink and heavily underlined.

"Humans are 72% water. All living beings can be controlled."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Cliff hang-y enough? If you know where I'm headed with this please share your thoughts about it. and if you don't, make some guesses lol.  
> Also, can you guess all the references in this chapter?  
> I'll see you all in the next update.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Again! The drama starts in this chapter. Read it and I hope you like it.  
> You guys pretty much figured out the blood bending reference as it's the most obvious but missed two others btw.

Going to Lcorp the next morning got her some raised eyebrows for her appearance, Lena woke up late and didn't have time to put her hair in a style that would cover her blonde roots. She blinked and rolled her eyes at the flashes snapping at her. Didn't these photographers have anything better to do than take pictures of her buying coffee? She could see the headlines now, 'Lcorp CEO drinks caffeine.' What a scandal.

She quietly took a sip and walked a bit faster to her building, greeting the security guard outside before being spotted by Jess. She never did understand how her assistant could even function this early without drinking a full coffee pot like herself. The cup in her hand was the third and she still couldn't properly open her eyes yet.

"Good morning, miss Luthor!" Jess greeted cheerfully. "I take it your personal trip went well?"

"Yeah, it was amazing." Lena smiled lightly. "I'm just still a bit jet lagged at the moment. Haven't had much sleep last night."

"Well, lucky you, Samantha and I have been taking care of everything for you before you returned." Jess said taking out her iPad and swiping through it. "All that's left for you is to sign a few important papers and then you could go back to your regular schedule."

Lena closed her eyes in bliss at those words. She was honestly expecting mountains of work waiting for her on her desk and had been dreading it all night. "Have I mentioned how grateful I am to have you, Jess?"

"A few times." Jess smiled with a laugh.

"Well, I'll say it again." Lena threw her empty paper cup in a nearby bin. "I am so very lucky to have you."

"Thank you, miss Luthor." Jess said bashfully.

They stood outside Lena's office and Lena straightened her suit's jacket before opening the door and entering. "I'll just finish those papers and then head down to my lab."

"Very well, miss Luthor." Jess nodded. "I'll come fetch you if anything comes up."

…

Lena sat at her lab table with her book in hand and an empty journal in front of her as she scribbled down her own notes. She had ordered waterproof paper books and hauled them all down to her private lab at night along with the trident she was given in Atlantis. She had a big bucket of water in the middle of the room. Her jacket and vest folded on the back of her chair, leaving her in only a white shirt, folded to her elbows and dress pants which were tucked at the bottom to avoid getting them wet.

The chair spun and intense green eyes laid on the water inside the bucket. Lena got up and approached it carefully, as if she was expecting it to attack her. She took a deep breath and slowly raised her hand. Her wrist spinning to raise the water along with her palm. Lena slowly clenched her hand into a fist and watched with fascination as the water started freezing from inside out along with the strength of her fist. "Woah…" Lena relaxed her hand and the water liquified once more. Deciding to take a different approach this time and relaxing her hand even further and spreading her fingers wide. She could see the effects take place as the water fizzled and dispersed into humid steam.

Lena watched with wide golden eyes before she pulled the water back into its original state and streamed it into its container. Taking a few moments to write down her notes along with the pointers from the book. She'd been curious all-night last night; the book said any living organism could be controlled and that made Lena very nervous for some reason. Her eyes flitted to the left where a potted plant stood in the corner. Should she try? No, no she shouldn't. Not now.

Lena flipped back to the page speaking about states of water. She wondered if Mera knew about any of this. Arthur said she was the best at water bending, but she seemed to rely on liquified water and never once mentioned freezing it or using it as steam.

At first, Lena thought this ability would be useless to her seeing as she was rarely around water. Relying solely on water as a primary weapon meant that she was limited to the terrain she was in and would make her disadvantaged against any opponent. But the information in this book threw that doubt out. Lena could essentially find water everywhere and adapt it anywhere. She could pull it from thin air, she could pull it from the ground, she could pull it from plants if she so desired, not to mention she could produce water if she sweated enough and she could find it in humans and animals. The last though made her shiver and swallow with an unpleasant feeling washing over her. The possibilities were endless and suddenly, Lena found herself filling page after page by theories and hypothesis that she was eager to test out.

Lena thought about how much focus this skill required while maintaining a relaxed body. She really didn't like the thought of standing still in a fight so she must find a way to move rapidly in order to be a hard target to hit while also paying attention to her surroundings and her powers. Lena bit her lip, that sounded like a lot to start off on when the only thing she was capable of was floating water around. But if there's anything Lena loved; it was a challenge.

She might pull a favor to complete this challenge, however. While Lena thought, her finger was moving around in a circular pattern that moved a very thin stream to swirl around with it. She's been absent-mindedly doing this for a few minutes before Jess's voice came through the communicator she kept down in the lab for easy contact with her assistant, Lena jolted, and the water spilled around her feet.

"Yes, Jess, I'll be up shortly." Lena pressed a button to reply. She wiggled her foot to flick off the water and quirked an eyebrow as an idea crossed her mind. She smirked and waved her hand over her foot and over to the bucket to clean up the mess and left a clean floor where the previously spilled water was. Lena grinned giddily as she picked up her discarded clothes and put them on.

…

Since Lena hadn't been able to reply to her friends' texts after that one where she mentioned that she's back in national city, she offered to host a game night at her place so she could tell her friends all about Atlantis.

The young Luthor was taking out the games she kept in her apartment and stacking them on her living room table so they could get right into the fun. Winn was the first person to arrive, as usual. He was carrying two boxes and gave her a bright smile as she invited him in.

"What's all this?" Lena asked curiously.

"Things that I want to discuss with you before the others arrive." Winn smiled awkwardly and headed for the couch.

"You mentioned that you wanted to speak to me about something before." Lena said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Kind of?" Winn's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure, honestly."

Lena sat down and mentioned for Winn to sit next to her. "Tell me what's wrong." She said patiently with a kind smile. She watched as her friend opened his mouth to speak and close it in frustration a couple of times before he took a deep breath and stating confidently.

"I'm leaving. I'm going to the future."

Lena's eyes widened and she sat speechless for a few minutes. Only capable of staring in shock.

"The others already know, and I wanted to tell you alone before I left." Winn said in a rush. "The legion came back when you were in Atlantis and they've asked me to go back with them."

"That's- That's great, Winn!" Lena said after composing herself. "I'm really happy for you."

"Wait really?" He asked.

"Yes of course!" She grinned a him. "I know you're dying to go be a badass in the future already. I'm just glad you decided to stay for a bit so you could say goodbye." She added with a sad smile. She couldn't believe this could be the last time she'd see this goofy guy.

"O- Oh." Winn stuttered. "Yeah! I was really hesitant about saying yes but I figured that this could be my calling, you know?" He said in excitement.

"Yeah. I understand." She smiled. "Well, I demand that you give me a proper hug goodbye before you leave then." She demanded playfully to which Winn laughed and complied. They hugged for a few minutes before Winn pulled back and pulled her attention to the boxes, he brought along with him.

"So, I don't suppose that's a new monopoly board?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not." He seemed offended for a quick second before shaking his head. "This big one is-" He lifted it off the table and into his lap. "My most prized possessions in one box."

"Oh. Okay?"

"I want you to have them." He said. "You're the only one that I trust with them. Alex would say no if I asked. Kara would probably accidentally break them, and James will leave them in a closet to collect dust."

"Oh, um, so what are they?" Lena asked. It must be something very important if he can't give it to his best friends. Winn placed the box in her lap and gestured for her to open it, which she did. "Figurines? That's your most prized possessions?!"

"They are ultra-rare, collector's edition and in mint condition!" He defended at her bewildered expression.

"I thought this was going to be some epic and secret stuff!" Lena laughed.

"They should be!"

"Okay, okay, I'll arrange them in a glass-shelved cabinet for you." Lena grinned with a giggle.

"Thank you!" He sighed dramatically. "Finally, someone who understands how valuable these are!"

"Okay, drama queen, what's in the other box?" She asked in amusement and lowered the box to the ground.

"Oh, it's a goodbye gift for you." Winn said simply.

"Oh, you didn't have to-"

"I wanted to." He smiled and ushered her to open the remaining, slim box on the table. Lena did and immediately stiffened and closed the lid.

"Winn-!" Lena started.

"Lena!" He interrupted with a sheepish, nervous smile. "Just listen-"

"I told you, no suit!" Lena frowned disapprovingly.

"I know!" He exclaimed. "Let me explain." He waited for her to raise an eyebrow to show she was listening before continuing. "I know you don't want to be a hero, but I thought that you might change your mind after a while, and I wanted to be the one who designed your first suit ever. But even if you didn't want to, you could think of it as one last goodbye gift, you don't have to use it."

Lena sighed and put the box aside and nodded. "Fine then, thank you, Winn."

"You're welcome!" His face broke into a huge smile.

Ten minutes later, The Danvers sisters arrived together as always, and Winn was the one to open the door as Lena was in her room putting away the boxes before joining everyone at the couch. They played the card games Lena had in her apartment which were mainly card games like Uno, the game was immediately tossed aside after Lena won for the fifth time in a row. They played spades and charades in teams of two, Lena with Kara and Alex with Winn. The game ended after Alex starts complaining that the two had an unfair advantage. They played cards against humanity and are currently playing Monopoly.

"I am not going to jail!" Lena protested mid game.

"Lena you have to-" Winn said.

"No! My whole family is in jail, I will not be going there too!" Lena glared at the board and her piece and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Well you'll have to!" Kara laughed loudly and moved Lena's piece to the jail spot. At which Lena frowned deeply at and swiped at the board with her arm and scattered the pieces and yelled 'No!'

Alex snorted and zoomed in on Lena's face with a pinch of her fingers at her phone's screen. She was so going to post this video on twitter.

Lena took notice of the camera pointing her way and pouted at Alex saying. "I thought you were on my side." Alex felt her mouth go dry at the look and felt like getting a drink all of a sudden.

"I am." She cleared her throat. "But I am not above exploiting your cuteness on social media for likes and comments." She finished with a grin and Lena blushed with a stutter.

"W- What's that all about anyway?"

"Oh, you don't know about your fanbase?" Winn asked casually, collecting the cards Lena scattered on the floor.

"My what?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Your fanbase." Winn repeated. "You know, people who love you and are crazy about you?"

"Excuse me," Lena started. "What-?"

"Here let me show you." Kara took out her phone and crawled closer to Lena, pressing their shoulders together so they could both see the screen. Kara went through all of her social media apps, looking for the Lena Luthor hashtag and explaining to Lena what these fans like to speak about and do on each platform. Lena watched in fascination as people talked passionately about how they thought she was a good person and that they had faith in her, going as far as to make long post discussions, and fan work for her. Lena felt her eyes dampen; she couldn't believe that her hard work was finally paying off. She was no longer just a Luthor to the people.

"You know what?" Kara asked. "You should make an Instagram account!"

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea." Lena said nervously.

"Why not? Miss Grant says interacting with fans will boost your reputation and company's sales significantly!" Kara said. "And you know no one's better at social media than Miss Grant."

"How about Twitter then?" Alex suggested. "You can just write about whatever you want, news or personal and people would love it."

"Hmm." Lena pursed her lips.

"C'mon, please?" Kara pouted. "Pretty please?" Lena rolled her eyes and tossed her phone at the blonde with a huff. Little shit knows that Lena can't say no to her when she pouts. Kara cheered and started downloading the apps.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" She asked no one in particular.

"Yup." Alex smirked, already uploading the video she took earlier.

Lena just sighed.

…

Lena didn't stay at her apartment after the others left. She stayed behind the clean up before putting on a jacket, taking her book and going down to the garage and taking her bike to her Mother's. She wanted to ask some questions before it became too late, she knew her Mother liked to sleep a bit early.

She parked at the side of the house as usual and made her way around to the front door.

Lena was confused when she found the door slightly ajar. She entered slowly, calling out to her Mother carefully. She hoped Atlanna just forgot the door unlocked. Yeah, that's it, Atlanna just forgot to lock the door. The inside of the house was a mess, furniture thrown haphazardly around and three-pointed stab marks on the walls. Lena could easily connect the dots and figure out what happened, but she refused to believe it yet. She advanced in the house, maybe Mother won and is just cleaning up now? Lena desperately begun searching.

"No, no, no." Lena muttered. "Not her."

Lena stopped in her tracks when she saw a single file on the dining table, her skin bristled, and a cold shiver ran down her body. No, it couldn't be. She couldn't just let her be happy, could she?

Lena picked up the file Lillian left behind for her with clenched fists and looked at it with cold, golden eyes. She opened the first page and her eyebrows furrowed in anger, she heard something start to move behind her and once she finished reading the breadcrumbs Lillian left for her, she heard the object behind her explode with a loud splash.

She pulled open a drawer in her mother's room and took out a communicating device, calling Arthur immediately.

"Lena!" Arthur picked up with a wide smile, faltering once he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

"Mother's been kidnapped," She snarled angrily.

Arthur stood from his throne and picked up his trident. "What?! By whom?!"

"My Mother." Lena spat in distaste.

"We will send our troops immediately!" He snapped.

"No need." She stopped him. "I know where she is, just come to National City with Orm and I'll leave the coordinates for you at the house."

"Leave the coordinates-? Lena are you going there alone?! You can't-"

"I'll get her back." Lena promised and disconnected the call. She put down the device and walked outside rigidly.

"I'm coming for you, Lillian." Lena said slowly, her eyes glowing gold dangerously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally reached the point I wanted to get to, next chapter will finally reveal Lena's powers. Don't worry, Lillian won't die, yet lol.  
> Tell me your thoughts and if you think you have any idea how this show will go down in the next chapter.  
> See you in the next update.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, another chapter. I also can't believe it lol.  
> Since you guys didn't seem to notice the other reference in the previous chapters, I'll just tell you what they were. the first one is Lena's glowing eyes, they're like Morgana's eyes from Merlin. When someones does magic, their eyes glow gold. and the second reference is the book Lena found. it's from Harry Potter and the half-blood prince.   
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter for now.

The night was quiet. A full moon overlooked Shelly island where an empty cargo ship floated in the water near the bay. There was a consistent sound of droplets falling on a metal surface and a dusty smell in the air. Atlanna opened her eyes with a flinch, her body wouldn't move to rub her pounding head. She looked down and saw her wrists tied to a chair.

The room was empty, save for her chair, one across from hers and a small table with tools peeking over the surface. Atlanna frowned in confusion. Why was she here? Who had brought her here?

"Ah, you're finally awake I see."

A voice drawled from behind her. Atlanna couldn't move her head far enough to see her captor but she could identify the voice of a woman. Her eyes moved to the corner of her vision in hoped of catching a glimpse but to no success, the woman moved away and had her back to her. "I'm assuming you haven't brought me here for a friendly chat." Atlanna said.

"Very observant." The woman hummed, inspecting the tools lined up in front of her.

"What is your business with me, human." Atlanna asked.

"Lena." The woman answered. "I brought you here to discuss Lena."

"What do you want with my daughter ?!" Atlanna demanded, her head turned to glare at the woman with the best of her abilities. "You stay away from her!"

"Wrong." She heard footsteps getting closer behind her and a blonde woman entered her field of vision. "She is my daughter, not yours. You've lost the right to call yourself her mother the moment you abandoned her 22 years ago."

"I was protecting her!"

"Doesn't matter." Lillian scoffed. "You really thought you could waltz back into her life after all this time and expect it's okay?"

Atlanna stayed quiet and glared at Lillian coldly. "So, what are you hoping to accomplish by kidnapping me?"

"Getting rid of you, of course." Lillian smiled.

"You'll never get away with it." Atlanna threatened. "My sons will find you."

"I know that." Lillian nodded. "I've been watching you for a while, queen Atlanna." Lillian picked up a syringe and flicked it with her index finger. "I'm not foolish enough to kill you and face the wrath of your kingdom just yet."

"If you won't kill me, then why have you brought me here?!"

"To make you a deal." Lillian replied. "I want you to leave and never return. Stay away from Lena and never come close to her again."

"I will never do that."

"Shame." Lillian shrugged. "You don't really have a choice."

"Why are you doing this?! Can't you let Lena be happy with a family that genuinely loves her?!"

"I care about Lena." Lillian said. "I'm doing this for her own good."

"What good will this ever bring?"

"Her safety." Lillian responded. "Lena is a popular figure here in National City and she is constantly watched by the media and targeted by the public. Our world doesn't take kindly to different species. What do you think will happen when it reaches the news that Lena is not completely a human?" Lillian raised an eyebrow. "A meta human Luthor. It might seem like nothing to you, but people will be after her head once they know."

"Lena never did anything wrong!"

"I know. She never did agree with anything Lex and I ever taught her." Lillian continued. "But you were the one to make her a Luthor when you left her. And so, you are the one who would seal her fate by being near her."

"I-"Atlanna frowned.

"Couldn't you just stay away? She would have had a normal life, no powers, no more threats than what a normal Luthor receives."

Atlanna stayed quiet. Her lips were pursed, and eyes fixated in a glare.

"I'll inject you with this and you'll be knocked out for a few hours, Lena will come, and I'll pretend as if I killed you. Once you wake up, you'll go back to your kingdom and tell your sons to cut off any communication they have with with Lena." Lillian ordered. "Do you understand?"

"I'll never do that." Atlanna gritted her teeth.

Lillian sighed. "Why must you make it difficult for the both of us." She moved closer to Atlanna with the syringe ready for injection.

"Don't-!"

"I lost a daughter once, your highness, I won't be losing another." Lillian said darkly. "As a mother, you understand."

"Wait-!" Atlanna flinched violently as the needle pierced the skin of her neck. Her vision immediately started getting hazy, she saw Lillian put her tool down and sit on a chair across from her. Atlanna saw her cold smile before her eyes closed and she succumbed to the drug running through her veins.

"I will not lose her too." Lillian whispered as she watched the blonde in front of her fall unconscious. She leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath. Lena will be here soon.

…

Lena was on a war path. Her features dark and enraged as she laid her eyes on the boat across the body of water in front of her. She took a deep breath before pulling back and thrusting her arms forwards to freeze the surface of the water, running into it and jumping off the edge and into the sea. She swam as quick as she could to the bottom of the boat. She sunk herself down once she reached a good distance and then bent the water around her body to launch herself out and into the cargo ship.

She looked around once she landed, nothing was there except for an entrance to the inside of the boat and Lena clenched her fists as she approached it, walking down the narrow stairs with a stomp on each step.

"Hello, dear." Lena's head whipped to the side and faced her adoptive mother.

"Lillian." Lena coldly said.

"Now, now, dear." Lillian chuckled. "There's no need for that tone."

"What did you do?!" Lena glared as she glimpsed the slumped body of Atlanna behind Lillian.

"I did what had to be done." Lillian replied simply. "Why don't we get out of here and go somewhere else to speak?"

"You're not going anywhere!" Lena snapped. Water slunk down the walls and gathered at Lena's sides.

"Lena, is this really necessary?" Lillian shook her head in disappointment.

"Step away from her." Lena commanded as she strode forward. The water raising behind her threateningly. Lillian could feel the temperature dropping.

"She's dead, Lena. There's nothing you could do." Lillian watched as Lena's expression fell in disbelief.

"No. You're lying!" Lena shook her head. "Step AWAY!"

"You really think I wouldn't do it?" Lillian raised an eyebrow.

"Please just- Shut up!" Lena's eyes filled with tears as she hesitantly took one more step forward. Her eyes never leaving Atlanna's still body. "Mom? Mom, wake up!" Lena called out desperately.

"Lena." Lillian spoke to pull the younger girl's attention back to her. "She's gone. And now the only thing that's left is to rid of her body." Lillian turned around to unlock the restraints, aware of Lena's slowly advancing body behind her. Lillian watched as Atlanna's body slipped from the chair and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"No!" Lena ran forward, pushing past Lillian and kneeling near her Mother's body, her hands reaching out shakily and grasping her arm. "Mom? Please… wake up." She pleaded softly. "M- Mom." Lena's shoulders shook with silent sobs before they stilled, and Lillian felt a sting of fear for a second. Lena's head snapped back to Lillian with a glare that sent a chill down Lillian's spine. Her eyes were glowing a vibrant gold. Lena stood up and clenched her hands as water flew around her violently. Ice started forming on the surface of the walls and were rapidly approaching their feet. Lillian took a step back in surprise. Lena's teeth were clenched together in a snarl as she gathered water around herself.

Lillian's feet stopped moving as the water froze around them. Lena raised her hand with an open palm, she pointed it at her adoptive mother and her eyes got wider and irises shrunk.

She slowly rotated her hand, the tightness in her hand straining against the veins in her wrist. Lillian could feel her throat tightening and her limbs moving in uncontrollable behavior. She gasped as the air left her lungs and she desperately tried to speak up. Screw the plan! Her eyes flickered to Atlanna, who was now twitching. The drug was wearing off and Lillian couldn't be more relived.

Lena paid no mind to the body that was pulling itself up behind her, instead, she kept her eyes fixated on Lillian and slowly closed her hand. The water beneath her feet wrapped around her waist and started levitating her off the floor.

She was only hovering a few feet in the air now, the ceiling of the room not allowing for more space to go. The sounds came muffled in her ears and she couldn't hear anything other than the rapid flow of Lillian's blood in her veins and the splash of water.

A hand grasped her own and Lena's head snapped down to viciously glare at the person who touched her.

Atlanna pulled her daughter down gently and pulled her head down to her chest to soothe her anger. Lena's eyes brimmed with tears and her hand shook. Atlanna ran her fingers through Lena's hair and held her tighter in silence. Lena's eyes dimmed and returned to their normal green as her hand loosened and fell to her side. She moved her head to hide her face in Atlanna's arms and silently cried.

Lillian stumbled and fell to the ground, grasping at her throat and coughing.

Everyone stayed still for a few minutes, only moving when the sound of hurried footsteps came down the stairs. The two older women saw two blonde men carrying tridents rushing into the scene and towards their mother while a blonde woman baring the crest of the house of El going the other way to the older Luthor.

Supergirl looked down at Lillian with a frown and knelt down to cuff her. "You really made her mad, huh?" She asked quietly.

"Is it that obvious?" Lillian bitterly spat.

"I don't know what happened here but I'm assuming it's worst that what's outside?" Supergirl raised an eyebrow and pulled Lillian up.

"What do you mean?" Lillian asked in annoyance.

"Oh." She said once they were above the boat. Ice was covering the entire surface of the boat, going down the sides and into the water.

"Come on, your cell is waiting for you." Supergirl said and flew herself and Lillian to the shore where the DEO agents were waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell from which episode this avatar reference is? Also, what do you think of Lillian? does she deserve to be blood bent or do you feel bad because she was just trying to protect Lena? Tell me your thoughts in a comment.  
> The next chapter will be uploaded soon-ish.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is again, Lena- centric. heavy avatar reference as always lol.  
> Enjoy!

Lena sat on the sand near the ocean, late at night and in soaked clothes. She had been dumping her frustration on the body of water in front of her and furiously jotting down notes.

She glared down at the words in front of her while she sat rigidly. It had been a few days since Lillian's arrest and since then, Atlanna was back in Atlantis. Lena had insisted that she goes back for her safety and her brothers whole-heartedly agreed.

At first, Atlanna refused to go. But the insistent words her children said made her reluctantly agree. She pulled Lena to the side before she left and spoke to her about Lillian. Lena was furious at the mere mention of the woman but considerably calmed down once her mother calmly explained that, while Lillian's methods were questionable, Atlanna believed that she had the best intentions.

Lena was conflicted. She knew that Lillian hated her, why would she try to protect her? Lillian did this often, came to help when she thought Lena was in danger or in trouble. Like the time Morgan Edge tried to kill her or when the Daxamites kidnapped her. Lena frowned. She really hated what she did to Lillian, not because she loved Lillian but because what she did was terrible, and no one deserved to be treated like that.

She sighed and dropped her pen, looking off to the side where the beach house remained dark and lifeless. Lena rubbed her eyes and stood up to put away the items she had.

Atlanna's words creeped up in her head. Telling her to not be so proud and to go talk to Lillian because even though she is terrible, she is still her mother too.

Lena closed her notebook, tucking the pen she had inside the pages and dried her clothes. she wrapped up her research, pocketed a few papers and advanced to her mother's beach house with a heavy sigh.

"Princess." A voice behind her greeted and Lena looked back in shock.

"Vulko!" She replied. "What brings you here?"

"I came to speak to you." Vulko stated. "About what happened."

"Oh." Lena said quietly. She didn't know why he came to talk to her about it, but she felt nervous, she didn't want to face the disappointment.

"Come sit with me." He gestured for her to come closer, sitting down on the sand. Lena did, folding her hands in her lap over her book. "So, how are you?"

Lena looked confused. Is this what he came all the way from Atlantis for?

"I'm fine." She replied. She was not fine. She was scared, angry and disgusted with herself.

"Really?" Vulko hummed, not convinced.

"Yes." Lena nodded firmly.

"I must admit, manipulating the blood in a living being is no easy feat." Vulko shifted his gaze to the ocean. "Have you been practicing?"

"No. I would never do something like that." Lena frowned.

"But you have." He said. "You were angry, and you did."

"I- "

"You lost control." He stated.

"I didn't-" Lena said helplessly.

"I saw what you did to the ship from the outside." Vulko continued. "You froze it solid."

Lena stayed quiet.

"You lost control." He repeated.

"Okay yes! I lost control!" Lena snapped. "Are you happy now?!"

"No. Because if this keeps happening, you'll hurt yourself and everyone around you." Lena's heart sank. She knew that. "That's why you must learn to control it."

"What?" Lena asked. "But how?"

"That is why I am here."

"What do you mean?"

"Your powers will only continue to grow, Lena." Vulko said. "And with them you must learn how to control them as to avoid situation like these again."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Lena asked helplessly. "It's just that I- I just- I don't know how to control them!"

"I'll help you master your powers."

"You will? How?!" Lena asked eagerly.

"You must first find balance within yourself." Vulko started. "Before you attempt balancing your powers. You, Lena Luthor, are a very powerful Atlantean." Lena blinked. "In Atlantis, we believe in a thing called 'Chakras'" Vulko turned to face Lena. "Tell me everything you know about chakras, Lena."

"What are chakras?" Lena asked in confusion.

"Oh. I see." Vulko said. "I guess we'll start with the basics." Lena nodded sheepishly in embarrassment. Vulko stood up and moved closer to the ocean. He crouched down and started digging up holes near the tide. Lena watched curiously. Vulko connected each hole with a small creak and then moved the top to the ocean where it started to fill with water. "The water flows through this creek, much like the water flows through our bodies."

Lena's eyes trailed behind the water as it flowed slowly down each hole, making a swirling pool of water. "As you can see, there are several pools where the water swirls before flowing on. These pools are like our chakras."

"So, chakras are like spiraling pools of energy in our bodies?" Lena asked.

"Exactly!" Vulko nodded, pleased. "If nothing else were around, this creek would flow pure and clear. However, life is messy, and things tend to fall into the creek." He said. "And then what happens?" he looked back at her.

"The creek can't flow?" Lena raised an eyebrow. She didn't understand how water creeks were supposed to help but she followed along. Vulko knows what he's doing.

"Yes. But-" Vulko wedged his thumb inside the first creek and removed any sand blocking the path and allowing water more room to flow. "- If we open the paths between the pools-"

"The energy flows!" Lena interrupted with a grin.

Vulko looked back at Lena with a soft and proud smile.

…

Lena and Vulko were now sitting cross-legged just over the crashing tides. Vulko said it'll help her feel connected to the ocean as he teaches her. Lena complied with no further questions.

"There seven chakras that go up an Atlantean's body. Each pool of energy has a purpose and can be blocked by a specific kind of emotion." Vulko was sitting across from her. "Be warned. Opening chakras is an intense experience and once you begin, you cannot stop until all seven are open."

Lena frowned in hesitation.

"Are you ready?"

Lena looked away and gulped. She took a deep breath and said. "I'll do whatever it takes." She will never let herself endanger anyone ever again. She will become a force for good.

"First, we will open the Earth chakra, located at the base of the spine." Vulko said. Lena stayed quiet, earth seems strange, but she didn't comment. She still knew nothing of Atlantean culture, and she won't ask questions unless it was warranted. She closed her eyes, as Vulko asked. "It deals with survival and is blocked by fear." Lena tensed. Her little mind boxes had to be open for this?! "What are you most afraid of? Let your fears become clear to you."

Lena opened her eyes to find herself surrounded in darkness, she looked around nervously and saw two dark looming figures staring at her with frowns and glowing red eyes. She briefly made out their features and was not surprised to see Lex and Lillian staring her down with cold gazes. Lena gasped and instinctively closed her eyes in fear.

"Lena? Your vision is not real." Vulko called out to the girl who had her shoulders raised to her ears in a defensive posture with her eyes clenched closed. "You are concerned for your survival, but you must surrender those fears."

"Let your fears flow down the creek." Lena shuddered but opened her eyes to gaze upon her family with a determined gaze. She was relieved to see the darkness dispatch around her and the two figures fade away and Vulko appear in their place. "You have opened your earth chakra!" Lena breathed deeply and wiped the sweat pooling at her neck before maintaining eye contact with Vulko.

Vulko moved his hand along the water surface beneath them. "Next is the water chakra." And Lena sat straighter. "This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt." Lena pursed her lips; this procedure is making her strip all of her emotions. " Now, look at the guilt that burdens you. What do you blame yourself for?"

Lena closed her eyes after the explanation and focused. In front of her stood herself in a lab coat with a recorder. Behind the vision, a lifeless body laid on an operating table. "I was the reason he died." Lena said with a grimace. The vision changed to Lena holding out her hand at a distressed Lillian. The older woman's body writhing under the influence of Lena's powers. "I almost killed my mother." Lena whispered with trembling lips.

"Accept the reality that these things happened, but do not let them cloud and poison your energy." Vulko's voice flowed into her ears. "If you are to be a positive influence on the world, you need to forgive yourself."

Lena took a deep breath and slowly it out. She felt herself tremble at the end, but she instantly felt much better.

Vulko waited a few minutes for Lena to open her eyes and give him a nod to establish that she's ready for the next step. "Third is the fire chakra. Located in the stomach." Lena tilted her head in confusion. Earth she could understand, but fire? She had no means of creating fire. "This chakra deals with willpower and is blocked by shame." Lena sighed once more. She closed her eyes and dug deep into her boxes. "What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?"

Lena saw herself standing for a family painting at the Luthor mansion. Gone was the little girl filled with love and hope and in her place was a shell of who she once used to be. "I never wanted to be a Luthor." Lena spoke with a frown. She saw her new family and how she imagined them to look at her with fear and disappointment. "I will never truly belong as an Atlantean."

"You will never find balance if you keep denying these parts of yourself." Vulko reminded. "You are a daughter of the land and sea. Therefore, you are a Luthor and an Atlantean."

Lena clenched her hands into fists as she let go of her shame. Her chest felt tight and her heart skipped a beat. She was a daughter of the land and sea. She was a Luthor and an Atlantean and she was okay. Everything will be okay.

Lena opened her eyes to see Vulko smiling sympathetically at her and she looked down at her lap. Regardless, he continued. "The fourth chakra is located at the heart. It deals with love-" Lena looked to the side where the beach house stood. "-And is blocked by grief." She frowned. "Lay out all your grief in front of you."

Lena sat in a different place, in front of her was Atlanna tuning away and going off into the depths of the ocean. Lena reached out but could not call her to come back. She saw her father laid dead in a hospital while he flatlined and Lena was powerless to stop it. She saw Lex changing from the loving brother she once knew into a heartless monster. Lena felt them all start to move away. "You have indeed felt a great loss." The memories were far beyond her reach and they started to dissolve. "But love is a form of energy, and it swirls around us." The remnants surrounded Lena like a haze, and she looked around in wonder. "Your family's love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart and is reborn in the form of new love."

Lena saw her friends form before her eyes. Embracing her as family and accepting her for who she was. To her side stood her new family, looking at her with adoration she never seen before. Lena felt her throat tighten and tears pool at the corners of her eyes. She sniffed as the first few tears escaped down her cheeks and smiled shakily.

"Let the pain flow away." Lena wiped her tears and opened her eyes. "Very good, Lena." Vulko praised.

…

Somewhere else sat a figure in a prison cell, waiting patiently on news to be delivered.

Lex leaned back on the wall with a smug smirk as he heard the footsteps of the guards down the hall. His plan was finally getting set into motion. He looked up at the warden who held a phone to his ear, lowering it slightly to give Lex a confirmation nod before handing the device over.

"She has been found, Mr. Luthor."

"Wonderful." Lex drawled into the phone with a satisfied grin. "Collect her and call me the second you have her."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor-"

Lex hung up and gave the phone back to the warden, walking back to his cell bed and sitting down once more with a look of pure glee. Soon, he'll have what he deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and boom! Lex is gonna be here! and no there will be NO red daughter. this is a different person he's looking for. Do you guys have any guesses?   
> Also, Lena is finally getting some sort of therapy lmao. What do you think of the chakra stuff being here? too much avatar? too little? (it will be continuing on for the next chapter regardless but I want to know if you actually like it or not)   
> Stay tuned for the next chapter. it's gonna have some action :).  
> Till next time!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter. About the last chapter, I'm glad that you are enjoying the avatar references. I was a bit hesitant to add it because I thought you might not like them. I'm planning to add a few more throughout the story so hopefully, you'll enjoy those as well.   
> A new character will be introduced at the end of the chapter :).  
> Enjoy.

Lena was allowed a few minutes to think back to her previous unlocked chakras, she had put her book aside and checked her phone for the time. It was nearing midnight. Lena sighed and put the device back in her pocket before turning her gaze back to Vulko, who was staring calmly at the sea.

"Are you ready to continue?" He asked.

"Yes I am." Lena responded.

"Good. Let us resume then." Vulko said. "The fifth in the chain, is the sound chakra, located in the throat." He explained. "It deals with truth, and is blocked by lies-" Lena inhaled and closed her eyes. "-The ones we tell ourselves."

"My family's name will always taint mine."

"You cannot lie to yourself about your own nature, but you must accept that your family's legacy is not your own."

Lena exhaled before saying. "I am not a bad person. I am doing good to the world." She opened her eyes and smiled at how good it felt to say that out loud.

"Very good." Vulko commented. "You have opened the chakra of truth." He smiled before raising a finger. "The sixth pool of energy is the light chakra, located in the center of the forehead." He tapped his finger to his own forehead. "It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion." Lena's head cocked to the side with a confused expression. "The greatest illusion in this world is illusion of separation. Things that you think are separate and different are actually one in the same" Lena's eyes widened as the face of a certain superheroine popped up in the back of her mind. The corners of Lena's lips frowned deeply as a simple disguise formed itself right in front of her eyes. Lena swallowed thickly in displeasure.

"Like Humans and aliens?" Lena asked in a whisper.

"Yes. We are all one people, living in the same world but we live as if we're divided."

"We are all connected." Lena stated. "Everything is connected."

"That's right! Even the separation of the elements is illusion." Lena looked at him for an explanation. "If you open your mind, you will see that all elements are one. Four parts of the same whole. You have figured that out already though, haven't you?" Lena smiled sheepishly with a shrug.

"Now there's only one chakra left, right?" Lena asked in anticipation.

"Yes. Once you unlock this chakra, you will be able to use your powers to their full extent without fear of losing control. When you do use them to their fullest potential, you will have complete control and awareness of all your actions," Vulko reminded. "But remember, life is messy and so your chakras will naturally close as you go forward in life. Be sure to revisit this method every once in a while, as a precaution."

"Let's do this!" Lena grinned.

"The thought chakra is located in the crown of the head." Vulko started. "It deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachments." He explained. "Meditate, on what attaches you to this world." Vulko's voice continued to guide her through her last experience. Letting her focus on the most important people she had in her life. Her mother, her friends… Kara. "Now let all those attachments go. Let go of all those who you've grown to love. Let them flow down the creek. Forgotten." Lena's eyes opened in surprise.

"What?! Why would I let go of the most important people to me?!" Lena asked.

"You must learn to let them go." Vulko said. "Or you cannot let the pure cosmic energy flow from the universe."

"Why would I choose the pure cosmic energy over my own mother?!" Lena asked. "Three chakras ago, having these ties was a good thing!"

"You MUST learn to LET GO." Vulko said sternly.

"Okay, I'll try." Lena frowned but closed her eyes to concentrate.

She knew letting go would be difficult, but she had to, for their sake. Lena's eyebrows furrowed and she held her breath as she allowed herself to momentarily forget about everyone she grew to love. "Now think of your attachments and let them go. Understand that letting go does not mean that it truly disappears." Vulko said gently. "And let the pure energy flow."

Lena saw her loved ones standing before her as she turned away and moved away, she got closer to a figure in the distance. It appeared to be waiting for her, a hand outstretched and waiting patiently. 'I'm doing this for you.' she thought. Lena took one last glance at the ones she considered family before reaching out to the entity before her. Lena closed her eyes to finally unlock her last chakra but a voice behind her called out desperately and Lena's eyes snapped open to see a blonde woman on her knees, sobbing quietly as a gun was held to her head by none other than her brother, Lex Luthor.

Lena gasped as she was jolted out of her concentrated state and she immediately jumped to her feet in an attempt to leave.

"Lena, what are you doing?!" Vulko asked in surprise.

"It's Lex, he's planning something!" Lena said desperately. "I have to find him."

"You have not completed unlocking the thought chakra!"

"I'm sorry, I must go, this is important." Lena said before turning around.

"Lena, you cannot leave before unlocking ALL of the chakras!" Vulko stated. "It will cause a significant imbalance to your powers and you will no longer be able to use them properly anymore!" Lena stopped. "Your vision has not happened yet. You have time. It is better to be prepared and in control rather than being reckless."

She looked down and swallowed with a clenched fist as she thought out the options.

"You will need your powers to be completely intact if you want to prevent your vision from happening."

Lena took a deep breath before turning back and sitting down once again. She closed her eyes reluctantly and ignored the pleading sobs that was steadily getting louder behind her. Lena grasped the entity's hand, its eyes opened to show glowing gold irises which hers mimicked the closer she got to it. Their hands grasped each other's, and they started ascending above the visions.

Vulko watched in fascination as water droplets from the water surrounding them started rising and floating around the young Luthor. Her eyes, now bright gold, snapped open. The glow faded but Lena's eyes remained a golden hue instead of their usual vibrant blueish green.

"Congratulations, Lena. You now have complete control of your powers." Vulko praised with a proud smile. "Now, go. Find your brother and protect your family."

Lena stood up confidently and nodded. "Thank you, Vulko. I am deeply grateful to you." She respectfully bowed her head.

"Come to Atlantis whenever you feel like getting another lesson. We haven't finished the history lesson when you were back in Atlantis." Vulko said. "Your mother left the pod for you should you want to drop by."

"I'll take you up on that offer soon." Lena smiled lightly before turning away and starting to walk off with a wave. "Thank you again, but I must go now." Lex was not going to lay a hand on anyone if she had anything to say about it. She'll find him.

"Till next time, princess." Vulko called out as he moved his head to look at the ocean, he should be getting back to Atlantis. But the world on the surface is so interesting. Maybe he'll take a bit longer to go home.

…

A tall window was overlooking the city below. Lex Luthor walked forward until he stood behind a wheelchair where a blonde woman resided. He put his hands on the handles and lowered himself enough to be directly next to her ear. "That should've been yours." He whispered making her green eyes move to the Lcorp building in the middle of the city. "She took everything from you. Your birthright, your heritage, your family… your name." He continued, watching in satisfaction as her fragile hands gripped the armrests of her wheelchair.

"Don't you want to take it back? Take it all back. From her." He asked lowly, his eyes watching intently as a smirk overtook his calm expression at the clenched jaw. "She doesn't deserve it. She is not a real Luthor, she's merely a mistake on our father's part." Lex spoke with disgust at the mention of his father, he was always a weak man. "You on the other hand, are a real Luthor."

"Help me, sister." Lex requested gently. "We will take her down together and reclaim our family's legacy, put it back to the way it always should've been." He promised. "With you as the true Luthor daughter. Healthy and well as you should be."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" The woman asked in a strained voice, shaking slightly due to her dire illness. "You had the chance to help me before, but you didn't."

Lex lowered his eyes before walking around the chair and crouching to look her in the eyes. "I was afraid of failing you. I did try, and I did fail." He paused to push her hair behind her ear looking into her sickly beautiful face. "But this time, I can find you a cure."

"How?" She asked. "You already failed once."

"I found the answer." Lex promised. "All we need, is a Kryptonian. And I know where we can find one."

The woman looked away to think of her options. After a moment's silence she faced Lex once more before nodding. She wanted to be well again. She wanted to have her family back. She wanted to be more than a sickly girl cast aside. She wanted to take her life back. "What do you need me to do?"

Lex grinned in satisfaction, pulling his hand back from his sister's face and shoving it deep into his suit's pocket to retrieve a single photo. He dropped it into the Woman's lap. "Get rid of her for me."

Thin, bony fingers picked up the photo and green eyes studied the face in it. "That's her?" She asked. "She looks so much like me." Aside of the dark hair, they had very similar face proportions, similar green eyes.

"Yes. It was easy for father to lie and tell the public that you were the same person." Lex nodded and stood up. "He legally changed her name to yours; you know."

"Why am I the one to get rid of her?" She asked. "You know more about her and have the means of taking her down."

"She'll be expecting me sooner or later." Lex said. "As much as I hate to admit it, she's smarter than I am. She can figure out my moves before I make them and that will not do." He scowled. "You on the other hand, she knows nothing about you, not even your existence. You have the element of surprise."

"Okay then." The blonde nodded. "I'll do it."

"Excellent. Form your plan and you have all my henchmen at your disposal." Lex smirked. "You're doing the right thing, Tess." He said before patting her shoulder and walking past her. "I'll be expecting updates on your progress soon." He reminded. "Now, I must be going back to my cell before someone notices my absence."

"I'll get you out of there, Lex." Lutessa promised, her eyes never leaving the ones in the picture. Lex smiled before leaving. "And You won't be alive much longer." She said to the dark-haired woman in the picture before her eyes lifted to look at Lcorp once more. "I'm taking my life back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena knows that Kara is Supergirl! Did you anticipate it happening like this? I sure as hell did not lol. It was a last minute decision tbh. Oh and also Lena's eyes are permanently gold, they will stay like this as long as Lena has kept her chakras unlocked. So, once one of them locks, they'll turn green again.  
> What do you think of Lex coming back? Did you think Lutessa will come back or did you just brush her off in chapter 4?  
> Tell me your thoughts, your guesses on how the plot will advance, and questions.
> 
> OH! I have a visual reference for Lutessa if you're curious. You can either google "Dianna Argon" and imagine her with green eyes or follow this link to a post I made on Tumblr earlier for this chapter.
> 
> The post:  
> https://fandomdojo.tumblr.com/post/185542005436/for-tonights-chapter-19


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter because I am busy with my last two weeks in college. Things are calming down again and will probably be chill until I'm done with assessments. Meanwhile, enjoy.

Hacking into a high security prison such as the one holding Lex was easier than Lena expected. What she didn’t expect though, was Lex playing the warden like a pawn and getting him to let him out of the prison whenever he pleases. Lena was very uncomfortable knowing that her psychotic brother has this much freedom. Especially as of lately. Lena knew he was planning something, and she was determined to find out what it is.

And so, Lena dug deeper. The cameras were usually shut down during Lex’s meetings with the warden to get rid of any evidence, so she forced them to stay on. Staring silently at her monitor as Lex scratched at the surface of his cell’s wall with a sharp item everyday until he finished a disturbing mural. What piqued her interest though, was the image carved on the wall. Lena could recognize it easily and she cursed Lex’s mocking sentimentality.

If Lex was going to have men on the inside, then so would Lena.

She would deploy her own minions inside the prison to snoop through her brother’s cell for any piece of information that could lead her to figuring out his plan. And the results finally came today.

Lena looked over the notes that were sent to her. Stacks of scanned papers. All useless. Lex only kept his precious diaries with him and none of them had a hint of any plans. None but one. Lena’s golden eyes bore into the familiar layout on the paper. A prison layout. Not Lex’s. But it was Mother’s instead.

She grimaced at her brother’s clear handwriting of their mother’s name, in red ink, along with a bold X in her cell. So, he wanted to kill Lillian. What for? As far as she knew, Lillian still has no contact with Lex. So, there is no reason to kill her, unless Lillian would stand in the way of his plan. It seemed hard to believe, Lex was Lillian’s golden boy, she would support him no matter what he does.

Lena rubbed her eyes in frustration and dropped the paper back on her desk. She needed a distraction. She picked up her phone and made a call.

“Hey, Alex.” She greeted. “Remember that favor I said you’ll owe me? I need it now.”

…

Lena strode confidently into the DEO headquarters, ignoring the looks she received from the agents walking by. The CEO looked around for the red-haired director but wasn’t able to spot her amongst the people.

“Mis Luthor.” A dark-haired man said behind her. “Director Danvers has been expecting you.” He folded his hands in a weird pose, fingertips pressed together to form a single gap between his thumbs and the rest of his fingers. “Follow me please.”

“Are you new?” Lena asked curiously.

He stopped. “Yes.”

“You’re Winn’s replacement?” She frowned.

“More like upgrade.” He corrected. “I am a 12-level intellect from the future.”

“Did he leave yet?” she asked.

“They will be departing soon.” Brainy nodded. “Come, we must not keep Director Danvers waiting for long.” He walked down the hall to the training rooms. “She is in the red sunroom with Supergirl.”

Lena’s lips pursed at the mention of the blonde hero. She didn’t forget who she was, she just didn’t have time to sit down and really soak in the information. And now Lena didn’t know how to act or behave around her ‘Best friend’. She had been avoiding any meet ups or proposals from Kara, wanting to figure out how she felt about the situation first before acting irrationally. But she supposed she’d have to hurry up with that.

Brainy led Lena to the room. The red light was unsettling, and it radiated a subtle warmth. She could see the blonde heroine curled up on the ground, no doubt been slammed there by the other woman, with her cape tightly held against her face in a stubborn attempt at not getting up. Alex standing over her with her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face.

“Director.” Brainy spoke up. “Miss Luthor is here to see you.”

“Lena!” Alex looked away from her sister and smiled widely at Lena. “You said you wanted that favor. How can I help you?”

Lena stepped inside and gave an awkward smile back. “I need your help.” She paused. “I need you to train me to fight.”

“What? Why would you need that?” Alex asked in concern. Supergirl’s ears perked at the request as well but she stayed still on the ground so her sister wouldn’t force her to get up once again. “Are you in trouble.”

“No, no.” Lena shook her head. Well, not yet, she thought. “I just… I have a feeling that I need to balance out my skills. I can’t rely on my powers all the time. I need to use my own skills as well.” She explained. “And I was hoping to use the training and mix it with my powers instead of separating them.”

Alex listened with a thoughtful expression. She nodded and gestured for Lena to come closer and step into the training mat. “If I’m going to be training you, then I need to see how much you already know.” She turned around and nudged Supergirl with her boot. “Get up. You’ll be Lena’s sparring partner.”

Supergirl groaned and sighed loudly before dropping her cape. She looked at Alex with a blank stare. “You just want to see me get my ass kicked.”

“Yes.” Alex smirked. “Now get up.”

Supergirl reluctantly stood up and looked at Lena, who was surveying the room curiously. Supergirl was about to speak up when Lena walked past her to the training bags at the corner of the room. She picked up a water bottle before returning to her previous spot.

“What do you need me to do?” Supergirl asked Alex.

“You two,” Alex started. “Will start this spar and you won’t stop until one of you falls to the ground.” Alex explained. “Any questions?”

“Can I use this?” Lena lifted the water bottle.

Alex looked confused. “Um, sure.” And watched curiously as Lena uncapped the bottle before placing it on the ground between her and Supergirl. “You both ready?” Supergirl squared her shoulders and nodded. Lena lifted both of her hands to stand in a defensive pose with her fists in front of her face. She glared at Supergirl lightly before also nodding.

“Alright.” Alex stepped back to observe. “Start!”

Lena immediately thrust her arm out in a punch. The water from the bottle flying along her arm and heading for Supergirl’s face. The blonde ducked just in time, and the water flew away behind her. She was about to grin smugly and make a move herself, but the water made a U turn in the air and came to splash in her face from underneath her chin and freezing around her head.

Supergirl’s arms thrust out in panic and she stumbled back, stepping on her cape. She fell to the ground, scratching uselessly at the ice since she didn’t have her powers to aid her.

“I win.” Lena stated, looking at Alex smugly.

Alex stared with wide eyes and a slightly opened mouth. “Woah.” She whispered and coughed. “Um, please unfreeze Supergirl before she suffocates, Lena.” Lena snorted and brought the water back to a liquid, gathering it and streaming it back into the bottle.

“What was that?!” Supergirl panted with wide eyes.

“My powers.” Lena said simply.

“If you could do that-“ Alex started. “then what do you need me to train you for?” She asked.

“If I want to get the best out of my powers. I need to start moving, Alex.” Lena said. “Staying where I am all the time makes me venerable to attacks. I need to use my powers while I am frequently moving.”

“Oh.” Alex said.

“That was insane!!” Supergirl called out after she caught her breath.

“Indeed.” Alex crossed her arms to think. “I will train you, Lena.”

“Thank you, Alex-!“

“But Supergirl will keep being your spar partner.”

“What? Why?!” Lena asked in annoyance.

“I don’t have time to train you both separately. So instead, I’ll train you together.” Alex shrugged. “You both have around the same skill level if we take out Supergirl’s powers. So, it’ll be equal fights.”

“I don’t mind.” Supergirl said. “This is better than you bullying me and calling it training.” She pouted at Alex’s snort.

“Is this arrangement okay for you, Lena?” Alex asked.

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Lena sighed.

“Great!” Alex clasped a hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Go get a training outfit on and let us begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Danvers' are back and now Lena will have to spend a lot of time with both of them while knowing they both lie to her face :). I live for angst and will definitely not regret this later.  
> Anyway, tell me what you think in a comment and I'll be back next week with another chapter.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done with classes so there will be longer chapters now.   
> This was mostly an all Lena chapter. Tess and Lex will be back in the next one.  
> Enjoy.

After Lena's reluctant acceptance to Alex's terms, they had started training right away. And boy was Lena not prepared. She could now see why Supergirl kept complaining when she had to train. Alex was a ruthless trainer.

Alex started Lena off simple, an hour long run, pushups and sit-ups along with some other military based training exercises. Lena, despite not being used to this type of training, managed to keep up. It was when she was finally allowed to spar with Alex that she saw how much at a disadvantage she was.

Lena was not allowed to use her powers during training, not even during the hand to hand combat with either Supergirl or Alex. Lena quickly became the new punching bag of the two others. She and Supergirl were currently doing said exercises in the red-sun room -well, Lena was doing the exercises. Supergirl was laying face down on the floor with her face pressed to the cool tiles- While Alex was outside talking to Brainy.

Lena paused her pushups and briefly looked at the bruises that littered both her and the heroine's body. She rolled her eyes and pouted at the fact that they will disappear from the Super's body as soon as the sun lamps were turned off while hers will remain for at least a couple of weeks, if she manages not to get any more, which is highly unlikely. She also scoffed at the fact that Kryptonians don't sweat. She hated that she was a dripping, sweaty mess while the blonde was only slightly disheveled and out of breath but otherwise looked normal.

These exercises, brutal as they are, gave Lena some time to think about the situation she was in. All of the previous events caught up to her and she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed as they finally sunk in. They felt real now.

Lena's golden eyes moved to the blonde hero once more with a hidden scowl. Ever since her vision had occurred, she was not able to see Supergirl anymore. It was only Kara now. Kara who she had trusted blindly, never ever questioning her or trying to look past her silly excuses. Lena felt stupid, humiliated even. She had put in her entire faith in Kara, trusted her with all her struggles and insecurities assuming Kara did the same. If Kara had something to hide, she'd trust her best friend, right? Apparently not.

Lena didn't even care about the secret itself. She didn't care that Kara was an alien. She didn't care that Kara was a Kryptonian. Hell, she didn't even care that Kara mistrusted her because of her name as much as she thought she would be. Lena spent so long with severed trust as a thread hanging between her and Supergirl's "friendship" but she found that it didn't even matter to her now.

It was the fact that Kara told literally everyone about her secret. Everyone knew, except Lena. So much for a best friend, Lena thought bitterly and turned her head away. She clenched her eyes shut as she fought the tears leaking from the corners and making their way down her face to drip on the floor.

She wanted to trust Kara. She couldn't even begin to express how painful her chest felt to simply think about this. Lena stayed quiet about this because she wanted to be proved wrong, she wanted to know that Kara did trust and care about her. That she didn't just befriend her simply because she wanted to keep tabs on someone from her family. Her thoughts started to stray to her so-called friends. Were they even friends at all? Was Lena just a joke to them? Were they all laughing at her behind her back?

Why didn't Kara just tell her? Lena sniffed quietly.

Supergirl did not have her super hearing but she didn't need it to pick up the sniffle next to her.

The blonde lifted her head off the ground and looked at the brunette next to her. Lena was still doing her pushups, slowly and shakily, her eyes closed and tears streaming out. Supergirl sat up on her knees facing Lena. She waited for Lena to open her eyes, but she wouldn't.

Supergirl reached a hand out to touch Lena's shoulder. "Lena…?"

Lena jolted and her eyes snapped open in surprise. Supergirl withdrew her hand at the dangerous flash in her best friend's golden eyes. She watched as Lena clambered to her knees and furiously rubbed at her eyes with her sleeves, wiping away at the tears. "It's not what you think it is." Lena said defensively before climbing to her feet.

"You were crying." Supergirl said.

"No, I was not." Lena said coldly. "There was something in my eyes."

Supergirl folded her hands in her lap and frowned. "Do you want to talk about… whatever is bothering you?"

"No." Lena glared. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Right." Supergirl pursed her lips. "Of course."

Supergirl watched helplessly as Lena stood up wiping her face from the remaining tears and sweat before making her way to the door rigidly. Lena slammed the door behind her, and Kara sighed.

Kara wished Lena would just speak to her. She thought that they were finally able to mend their broken friendship. She had hope that Lena would slowly start to let go of the incident that broke their bond and accept Supergirl's friendship once again. But Lena appeared to be angrier than ever and she didn't know why. Didn't know how to deal with it so the only thing she could do is try to be a supportive friend.

Alex poked her head in the room with a questioning raised eyebrow. "Why did Lena leave like that."

Kara shrugged helplessly and Alex rolled her eyes before closing the door.

…

Lena stormed into the DEO's locker room in a hurry. She couldn't believe that she allowed Supergirl- that she allowed Kara to see her crying like that. God, how weak could she be? She felt the humiliation seep into her even further and she looked down at herself in disgust. She really needed a shower to calm down.

She wandered around the room in search of the locker she'd previously used to store her clothes and opened it. Taking her shirt off and dropping it on the floor to later pick up. In her haste, she didn't pick up the sound of footsteps entering the room.

"Hello?" A slightly accented voice said.

Lena jumped and turned around to face the woman. Their eyes met and a look of recognition passed in the other woman's eyes. Lena awkwardly stood with her arms crossed in an attempt to cover her chest. Lena looked at her face and analyzed her features. Tanned skin, sharp cheekbones and eyebrows. Smoky eyes and full lips. "Oh my god, are you Lena Luthor?!" A disbelieving gasp escaped the woman and a large smile overtook her face.

"Um yes, hello?" Lena replied in confusion.

"Hello Miss Luthor!" The woman said enthusiastically. "I didn't think I'd get to meet you here during my stay." She offered her hand out for a handshake. "My name is Imra Ardeen, I am a part of the Legion!"

"I- It's nice to meet you, Imra." Lena hesitantly accepted the handshake.

"I am a really huge fan of your work, Miss Luthor." Imra smiled. "You've been a great inspiration to me as I grew up."

"O-" Lena's eyebrows raised in surprise. She could confidently say that She was not THAT old. Was she? "Oh."

"Oh, excuse me." Imra saw the bewildered look on Lena's face and started to clarify. "I'm from the future. 3019 to be exact."

"That makes sense." Lena sighed in relief. "I guess."

"Sorry to confuse you, Miss Luthor." Imra apologized, looking down at their still clasped hands and sheepishly letting go. "It's just that, it feels so… exciting to truly meet you."

"I bet you didn't anticipate meeting me like this, huh?" Lena snorted, looking down at her bra covered chest.

"Well, no." Imra blushed and looked away. "But it is still a pleasure nonetheless!"

"I'm… glad you think so." Lena smiled. "Not many would agree."

"From where I come from, you are a very respected figure." Imra said. "Many would kill to be able to meet you."

"that sounds very unusual." Lena admitted. "I am not used to people looking at me with anything but hate and anger."

"Don't be discouraged, Miss Luthor." Imra placed a hand on Lena's shoulder. "You will face many challenges, but you are more than capable of overcoming them."

"Thank you, Imra." Lena smiled gratefully. "I really needed to hear that."

"You're welcome." Imra smiled and took a step back. "I will be leaving you to whatever you were doing now. Sorry for interrupting."

"I didn't mind at all." Lena said. "Have a safe journey to the future."

…

Lena left the locker room fresh out of a shower and immediately looked for Alex. She found the director at the same spot she was in when Lena stormed out of the red-sun room. Lena approached the redhead and cleared her throat. "Director."

"Lena." Alex replied. "I'm assuming you're not here to explain yourself?"

"Uh, no." Lena shifted her weight. "I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Where did the DEO take my mother?" Lena asked.

"Why?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I just… need to know." Lena said awkwardly.

"Is there something going on, Lena?" Alex asked seriously.

"No, no. I just need to pay her a visit." Lena replied. "I need to tell her something."

"Alright." Alex nodded. "I was just done with Brainy here, he can give you the details."

"Thank you, Alex."

"Don't forget to come back here tomorrow." Alex reminded. "And there will be no running out of it this time." She said sternly.

"Yes. Of course."

…

Lena visited Lillian in prison the next day. Arranging for a private room with a table in the middle along with a chess board, two chairs around it. Lena entered the room quietly, a frown settling over her features as her eyes fell on the back of a blonde figure.

"Hello, dear." Lilian greeted without turning around. Inspecting a chess piece in her hands with her usual smug smile.

"Mother." Was Lena's curt reply.

"Nice of you to drop by and see me." Lillian said. "Sit."

Lena huffed quietly and walked past Lillian's chair to sit on the other. Her eyes immediately found Lillian's and Lena found some satisfaction in seeing her mother's eyes widen and lose their usual composedness. Lillian let out a small laugh and put down the chess piece in her hand onto the board to start a silent match.

"I see you've adapted well to being… a meta." Lillian spoke.

"I did." Lena replied.

"But I'm sure you haven't come here to check up on me and my well-being after you almost killed me." Lillian said sarcastically. "Nor have you come to update me on your life."

"No." Lena pursed her lips and moved a pawn.

"So, tell me dear." Lillian continued. "Why have you come?"

Lena opened her mouth but closed it and paused. She tried to find the proper wording. She attempted again and swallowed. "I… need your help." Lillian paused her move to look up at Lena with masked surprise. She smiled and continued.

"With what?"

"It's about Lex."

Lillian smirked lightly and didn't bother looking at her daughter as she replied. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that, dear. You know I haven't had any contact with him ever since you helped put him in jail."

Lena frowned at the answer. "It isn't about him specifically."

"Then what is it about?" Lillian asked. "Be more clear, dear. You know I don't like beating around the bush."

"Do you know of any… women… he might be targeting?" Lena asked awkwardly. And Lillian raised an eyebrow. Lena hurriedly said. "Not that way!" and Lillian cocked her head to the side. "I had a vision. He was going to kill a woman."

Lillian took in the information. "I don't think I know anything that could help you."

"Please, mother, this is important!" Lena pressed. "I couldn't recognize her. But she called my name, desperately. She called for help. My help." Lena paused. "I need to find out who she is."

"I don't know who she is." Lillian shrugged. "What am I supposed to tell you?"

Lena swallowed thickly. She reached into the pocket of her suit and retrieved a piece of paper. She dropped it to the side of the board. She watched Lillian eye it with interest. "Open it." Lena watched with interest as Lillian's face lost its composed features completely and was replaced with shaken fear. Lena did not get any satisfaction from it this time. "You need to help me. Because your life depends on it too."

Lillian dropped the prison's layout on the table with a deep frown. She looked at her marked cell with a rare sorrow that Lena was sure she never saw before. Not even during her Father's passing.

"So, are you willing to bet on the psychopath who is out to kill you? Or will you help the only person who is willing to protect you?" Lena asked. Her gaze never left her mother's. She waited patiently for an answer.

"I'll help you." Lillian said reluctantly.

"Good choice." Lena smiled lightly. "Now please tell me what you know."

"I truly don't know anything." Lillian admitted. "But you might find some answers in our house. In your Father's study. He had some documents there that Lex was desperate to get his hands on."

"Wouldn't he have already got them by now?" Lena frowned.

"He had false copies." Lillian informed. "He kept the Real ones in a sealed safe. Behind our last family portrait."

"Do you know how I could open it?" Lena asked.

"No. But you could probably open it after a few fiddles." Lillian moved her piece. "Check."

Lena looked down at the board with interest and countered. "checkmate." She smiled.

"You were always a chess prodigy." Lillian mused. "Still are, I see."

"I appreciate your help, mother." Lena said. "Really."

Lillian sighed and reached her hand out to Lena. "I would have still helped, you know."

Lena looked at the hand uncertainty. "It didn't seem like it at the beginning of this conversation."

"Well, I would have." Lillian said.

"You tried to kill my mother."

Lillian's lips pursed and she breathed out her nose. "I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me? From what?!" Lena demanded. "I almost killed you! I…" Lena's lower lip trembled

"You didn't though." Lillian pointed out.

"I would have." Lena glared.

"Well it didn't happen." Lillian nudged her hand further. And Lena hesitantly took it. "I was trying to help. It didn't go as planned but I'm ok as you can see."

"I tried to kill you. That's not ok."

"I tried to kill you plenty of times." Lillian shrugged. "In our family, as long as you get out alive, it's ok."

"That's not helping." Lena deadpanned.

"Well, that's all I got." Lillian said. "The guard will come soon. Go to our house and if you find something, tell me and I'll see if I can be more help."

"Alright, I will." Lena nodded and pulled her hand back. She stood up and pocketed the map she brought along. "I'll come see you soon."

"Can't wait." Lillian said dryly and Lena smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think, I'll be replying to any question.   
> Oh and I want to start doing one-shots every now and then, so if you have any AUs or prompts you'd like me to write, just comment them or tell me on Tumblr @fandomdojo   
> I'll be back next week with the next chapter.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baack! and as you can see, I've updated the ship tags. For now, this is what I think I'll do but it might take some time (Slow burn) since Lena is still mad. It's not definite because I haven't planned it all the way through mostly because I decided to change something in the original plan.
> 
> I was going to write this story as it is until the end with no ships. and then if the response is still good and readers are still interested, I would do a part 2 where ships start off from the beginning (along with a potential hero Lena). But since the story is losing views and people aren't sticking around, I decided to wrap it up quickly in one story and that would mean most of the things I've planned will not make it which is unfortunate. 
> 
> Anyway, as always, enjoy :).

The past few weeks had been thankfully calm. Lena decided that she had enough of ignoring her duties as CEO and went back to work at Lcorp. Alex insisted that she keep coming into the DEO for her usual training though and Lena found a comfortable routine that balanced both. Her search for Lex was momentarily paused for the time being. She had been antsy, but the information she got from Lillian had calmed her nerves slightly. She hadn't gone to retrieve the documents yet, but it's on her to-do list.

Lena found a small amount of satisfaction during her combat training; she had always gone all out on her two opponents and did not hold back in the slightest. Lena thought of it as continuous payback for the consistent lies that were tossed in her face. Being the genius that she is, it didn't take her long to find patterns in both Danvers fighting styles. Kara usually relied on her brawn rather than tactics and skills and so, it was easy to get the upper hand on her. Especially if she didn't have her powers. In fact, Supergirl was rather weak without her powers. The slightest amount of exercise would leave her breathless and wheezing. She and Alex agreed that Supergirl didn't deserve those abs of steel much to Supergirl's dismay. Lena wasn't allowed to use hers either but could if she so desired. The DEO's dampeners didn't work on her.

Alex, however, was a very skilled combatant. Lena struggled to keep up in the beginning. The elder Danvers had much more experience and training while Lena only had the past skills of self-defense classes she took as a teenager. Alex was fast and agile; her strength wasn't something she relied on. Lena often found herself on defense and only attacking when she found an opening. Though she learned quickly that in order to get the upper hand, you had to be faster and unpredictable.

It saddened Lena that she didn't get to utilize her powers more though. She was looking forward to slap Supergirl's self-righteous ass with a water whip or something. She still felt proud that she trolled her during their test spar.

Speaking of Supergirl, Lena had been admittedly extra snarky and sassy lately. She knew her being a bitch wouldn't really solve any problems between them, but she still wanted to be. Even to the point of ignoring any texts or calls from Kara about lunch dates or game nights. Only giving short replies of "I'm busy." Or "Can't." or outright leaving her on read. On normal circumstances, Lena would feel terribly guilty but that was quickly set aside and Lena much preferred being petty.

Lena currently sat at her desk at Lcorp with her laptop in front of her and an email from a partner company open. She stared at it while her mind was elsewhere when Jess's voice informed her of a certain Miss Danvers coming over for a lunch date. Lena sighed. Would it be too suspicious if she took down Kara's unrestricted access to her? Yeah probably, Lena minimized the window she had open and leaned back in her chair to wait.

Five minutes passed and there was a knock at the door. Lena looked up from her phone to see Kara entering the room with a big takeout bag from Big Belly Burger. Kara's eyes instantly brightened once they've landed on Lena and Lena gave a polite smile in return. She figured that it was best to act like nothing had happened and that she didn't know anything. Kara would tell her eventually, right? Lena hoped so.

"Lena!" Kara exclaimed. Rounding Lena's desk for a hug. "I missed you so much!"

'You saw me everyday for the past three weeks' Lena wanted to say but she simply stood up and hugged Kara back. "Yeah, Sorry I've been so busy lately." Lena said and pulled back.

"I missed having our lunch dates too." Kara pouted. "How else am I gonna make sure you've been eating properly."

"I know about the deal you have with Jess." Lena raised an eyebrow. "She keeps me fed."

"Well I'm glad it's working!" Kara grinned and glanced at Lena's white couch. "Shall we? I'm starving!"

"You're always starving." Lena pointed out as she followed her blonde companion. "That's nothing new."

"Yeah well. I'm a growing girl!" Kara puffed her cheeks with a blush.

"You're 28, you aren't doing any growing anytime soon." Lena snorted and sat down. She waited for Kara to rummage through the bag for her portion. "So, what have you been up to these days?"

"Oh, you know. Work stuff." Kara's lips twitched as she smiled. "It's been crazy at CatCo lately."

"Really?" Lena asked in amusement and accepted her burger with a "Thank you.". As the owner of CatCo, she could confidently call bullshit. "Any interesting stories you're pursuing?"

"Hmm, none that are worth mentioning." Kara adjusted her glasses and dug into her own burger. "I'll be sure to tell you once something comes up though!"

"Uh huh." Lena nodded. "Alright."

Lena wished she could say their conversation went smoothly from there but unfortunately, no such thing happened. Kara was the one who mainly talked, and Lena gave responses to show she was still paying attention. The topics went and came smoothly, Kara rambled about a topic and would shift the topic mid-sentence to speak about something more interesting. It wasn't until Kara briefly mentioned the DEO training that Lena figured out that Kara wasn't supposed to know that. Lena narrowed her eyes slightly. On normal circumstances, Lena would brush this off as information Kara had got from Alex as she is her sister and they were very close. But now, Lena picked up these inconsistencies very quickly.

"So, Kara." Lena interrupted and pretended to pick at a fry. "How do you know about DEO activities?"

Kara's eyes widened and her hand stopped inches away from her mouth. "W- What?"

"The DEO are very secretive." Lena begun. "It seems weird to me that they would let a civilian know about what's going on in their facility." Lena shrugged. she plopped the fry in her mouth. "Unless you're asking for a story?" Lena watched Kara's throat bob as she swallowed and cocked her head to the side.

"Oh, Y- You know." Kara adjusted her glasses nervously. "I'm in contact with them b- because of Alex."

"Alex tells you about their operations?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"She tells me an overview so I wouldn't worry." Kara said quickly.

Lena paused. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, of course. How silly of me." Lena chuckled. "Of course, she'd tell you." Alex strictly told her not to tell anyone about their training.

"Yeah." Kara nervously laughed along. "W- Well um, you're coming to game night, tonight, right?" She asked hopefully.

Lena considered saying no. But decided to agree. "Yes. I think I can come off work early today."

"Great!" Kara smiled widely. "I've been dying to introduce you to Brainy and Nia!"

Lena knew Brainy. She had some conversations with him at the DEO but knew nothing about this Nia. "Who's Nia?"

"She's like, my protégé." Kara grinned. "She started working at CatCo recently and I decided to take her under my wing and show her how to be a reporter."

Lena hummed with a smile. "Can't wait to meet her then."

"I have to get going now if I want to catch the bus." Kara stood up and gathered her empty wrappers with the discarded napkins. "Snapper will have a fit if I'm late again."

"Ah yes." Lena nodded and dropped their empty drinks in the bag. "The flying bus. I remember." It took Lena all the self-control she had to keep a neutral face and stop herself from bursting into laughter. Kara's eyes were comically wide, and she let out a nervous, slightly fearful laugh before giving Lena a hug once more. Kara hesitated slightly before placing a timid kiss to Lena's cheek. The blonde left in a hurry with a wave over her shoulder and a quick 'See you tonight!'.

Lena's eyes trailed behind Kara as she made her way out of her office and a smirk cracked on her face as the door closed. Lena shook her head and headed back to her desk to resume her work. Jess's voice came through the speaker on her desk. Saying that the R&D team requested her presence. Lena sighed and made her way outside.

"What do they want?" Lena asked as she walked past her assistant's desk and towards the elevator.

"It's about the prototype you sent them a week ago." Jess informed. "They're having difficulties."

Lena frowned in displeasure. What difficulties could they be facing? "I'll go see. You can stay." She said and pressed the down button. Jess nodded and returned to her desk. Lena entered the lift and was surprised to see a young blonde woman inside. "Hello?" Lena furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh, hello!" the blonde exclaimed. Her green eyes widening as she saw Lena. "M- Miss Luthor."

Lena cocked her head to the side. "Are you new here? I don't seem to recognize you." She smiled. Lena typically memorized her employees faces after a few encounters. This woman had a very familiar face, but Lena couldn't put her finger on where she'd seen her.

"My name is Tess Mercer." The blonde offered her hand for a handshake. "I'm here as an intern."

"Nice to meet you, Tess." Lena smiled and accepted the hand. "I see that you don't have your ID pass though, Miss Mercer." She pressed the button to the floor where the R&D department was.

"Oh, yes." Tess's face turned nervous. "I lost it and am trying to retrace my steps to find it. Please don't be upset." She frowned. "I really need to finish this internship in order to graduate."

"Oh, it's fine." Lena dismissed. "But please find it and keep it on at all times. The security won't be as understanding, Miss Mercer."

"Of course, Miss Luthor." Tess perked up with a smile. "Thank you!"

"Any time." Lena said. "What university are you attending if you don't mind me asking?"

"I go to MIT." Tess said proudly.

"Really?" Lena's eyebrows raised. "I used to go there as well."

"Well, your work has been an inspiration, Miss Luthor." Tess smiled shyly.

Lena was surprised at the words but felt a soft smile spread over face. She sometimes forgot that people her age were still students who were only graduating recently. "I'm glad to hear that." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Well, this is where I'm headed. Good luck on your ID hunt, Miss Mercer."

"Goodbye, Miss Luthor." Tess smiled brightly and waved.

The doors closed and Tess lost the smile. Her expression turned menacing as she pressed the very last button on the pad. She knew this elevator was the only one to have access to where she wanted to go. Her eyes were fixated on the number pad above the doors as they descended. Her fingers twitched anxiously, and she clenched them to get rid of the numbing. She couldn't afford to lose control of her body yet. She had a mission to complete.

The doors opened to a long hallway with a single door at the end. So, that's where Lena Luthor's private lab was. Interesting. Tess dealt with the door's security and entered the lab. Her eyes scanned the items scattered around. She came for one thing and one thing only. And there it was. Laying on a table without a care for its value.

Tess smirked and picked it up. Now to just sneak this out without anyone noticing. Her plan would soon start, and Lena Luthor won't know what hit her. Literally.

Lex would be proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tess is back! And she's up to something.   
> Does anyone have any guesses for what Tess took from Lena's lab? Lena will go to the Luthor Manor and find out about Tess, eventually. Hopefully before anything bad happens.  
> If you haven't read the note at the beginning, please take a moment to do so and tell me what you think about the decision I've made. As always, I'll be replying to comments whenever I can and I'll be back next week with another update.
> 
> Oh, and I'm currently trying to write a side one-shot, so if I'm late to update, it's probably because of that.  
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly didn't think I'd be able to finish this today but I'm impatient and wanted to post now.   
> Enjoy the chapter!

Lex sat on an armchair, waiting with a glass of scotch in his hand. His legs crossed and foot bouncing. He checked his wristwatch and scoffed. Lutessa was late. Lex wasn't the most patient person, nor did he have all the time in the world. A loud clang behind him made him jump slightly and turn around in his seat. Tess moved away from the table in her wheelchair with a small smug smirk. "Was the dose I gave you enough?" He asked, annoyed.

"Barely." Tess turned her chair to face Lex. "It almost failed while I was in the lab. Give me a bigger dose next time."

"A bigger dose would mean you wouldn't be able to move for a longer period of time." Lex informed as he stood up.

"Doesn't matter, as long as the mission is successful." Tess waved off. "I can handle being paralyzed for a few more days. It's nothing new to me."

Lex swirled the contents of his glass as he gazed at the table where a large item laid. "So, this is what you decided to take from Lena's lab? Out of everything that is available there, you choose this useless piece of junk. How did you even manage to sneak it out?!"

"It seems useless to you because you are an idiot." Tess retorted and crossed her arms. "I used an image inducer. No one suspected a thing."

"You could've brought me the Harun-El she had!" Lex clicked his tongue in displeasure.

"And what would you do with it?! It's not finished and it's unstable." Tess asked with a glare. "If you thought I'd let you inject that into me, you are sorely mistaken."

"We could've finished it on our own." Lex frowned. "I told you we only need a Kryptonian to make a cure out of it for you."

"You're not a scientist, Lex." Tess reminded. "And I don't trust you to make it correctly anyway."

Lex huffed and gulped down the rest of his scotch. He made a face at the burn in his throat and put down the glass. "Alright, what is your grand plan then?" He asked. "You refused to use my henchmen and went in there yourself, you exposed yourself to her."

"I haven't exposed myself. She doesn't know who I am, she thinks I'm an intern." Tess said leaning back into her chair. "And it's none of your business. You just focus on finding me a permanent cure and leave Lena to me."

"You've met her, haven't you?" Lex stated.

"Yes."

"And?" He raised an eyebrow.

"And nothing." Tess said firmly.

"Really?" He asked, unconvinced. "You have nothing to say about her?"

"No." Tess looked away, stating the end of the conversation. "She's only a target and she must be terminated. I have nothing else to say about her."

Lex hummed thoughtfully, he crossed his arms and shrugged. "Well, I need to go back to my cell before the warden throws a fit again. I'll come see your progress next week."

…

Later that night, game night was hosted in Kara's apartment as usual. Alex had arrived first, coming early to help her sister prepare the apartment, she came with two packs of beer and several Chinese takeout boxes. The newly assigned director looked at her sister with a raised eyebrow as the blonde attempted to make a kale smoothie without being close enough to inhale the scent.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked.

"I'm making Lena a smoothie." Kara answered as she successfully closed the lid without once sniffing the evil vegetable. "She likes kale. I don't know why."

"Yes, I can see that." Alex walked into the kitchen. "I'm asking why you had your shirt over your face and were leaning back like that."

"Kale smells disgusting." Kara pouted.

"No, it doesn't." Alex snorted. "It smells like any ordinary vegetable."

"All vegetables are evil and nasty, Alex." Kara replied in a serious tone.

"Uh huh, any reason you're only making smoothies for Lena and not everyone else?" Alex asked.

Kara blushed. "I- It's not just for Lena." She defended. "Anyone can drink them!"

"No one other than Lena would ever willingly drink kale." Alex laughed.

"Well," Kara puffed her cheeks. "More for Lena then!"

"Yes." Alex smirked. "All for Lena."

"Please stop talking." Kara deadpanned and turned to face her new blender. "And please go open the door for Brainy." She said before lifting her shirt over her mouth and nose again.

Alex was about to ask what she meant but the doorbell rang before she could. Alex rolled her eyes -stupid super hearing- and made her way out of the kitchen to the door. She opened the door to see Brainy standing at the door with his hand lifted to inspect his wristwatch. His eyes lifted from the ticking device and looked at the red head's bored expression bashfully. "Were you seriously standing there waiting to knock at 8pm sharp?" He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I brought Pizza." He lifted the boxes. "I was informed that this was going to be a… casual friends gathering?"

"Uh, yeah. Come in." Alex moved to allow Brainy in. "Kara's in the kitchen. You're a bit early."

"I am right on time, actually." Brainy corrected and trailed behind Alex further into the apartment. "Kara said to be here at 8pm, I have arrived at exactly at 8pm."

"She meant, around 8." Alex informed. "But since you're here, help me move these to the living room." She gestured at the various foods the Danvers' had prepared. "You'd be much better help than Kara anyway." She ignored her sister's offended 'Hey!' and picked up a bowl of chips.

"Very well." Brainy carefully placed two plates on the table. "Director, will Nia Nal be attending this gathering?" He asked.

"Yes, she will, Kara asked her to come. She should be arriving any minute now." Alex nodded. "Call me Alex outside of work, Brainy." A small lopsided smile formed on Brainy's face as he continued going back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. Nia arrived 10 minutes later, and it took Kara an extra five to finish making those smoothies. The group sat down at Kara's couches and each pair started a conversation. Brainy attempted to awkwardly speak to Nia but found speaking to Alex about the DEO much easier. Kara was telling Nia all about Lena while the younger girl listened in amusement.

"She's a bit late. You think she's coming?" Kara anxiously asked. She grabbed her phone to send her a text.

"Calm down, she'll come." Alex waved off. "She might be running late at Lcorp or something. You know how she is." She smiled.

"Yeah, probably." Kara nodded with a frown.

"How did you manage to meet Lena Luthor, Kara?" Nia asked. "Was speaking to her scary?"

"I wasn't a reporter at the time, but I tagged along with my cousin Clark, who was a reporter, and met her as he was interviewing her." Kara answered with a smile. "I didn't really do much speaking, but she did ask who I was. She was really nice."

"And you two became friends afterwards?" Nia raised an eyebrow.

"We didn't become friends until Miss Grant made me a reporter."

"I met Lena during her company's renaming ceremony that was attacked." Alex cut in and added. "Though I officially met her here afterwards."

"What did you think of her?" Nia asked.

"She looked at me like she wanted to melt my face." Alex deadpanned.

"What why?!"

"I don't know." Alex lied with a snort. She knew exactly why.

"Well when is she going to arrive?" Nia asked. "Kara wouldn't let us start playing any games until she arrives." She whined.

"She'll arrive soon." Alex waved off and reached out towards a box. "We're playing Jenga while we wait!"

The teams were equally matched with Lena still not present, so the Danvers' had teamed up against Brainy and Nia. Kara's super speed was enough to match Brainy's intellect for the first few matches of the game. The teams had been closely tied but Brainy managed to score a win at the last minute. Kara, momentarily forgetting her previous anxiousness and getting caught up in the competitiveness of the game. "That is NOT fair! You cheated!" Kara accused as the pieces collapsed once more.

Brainy brought his hands together and spoke calmly, if not a bit smugly. "I merely calculated the chances of the tower collapsing and chose the lowest percentage."

"Just suck it up and admit we won!" Nia taunted as she gathered the pieces, attempting to stack them again.

"I call bullshit." Alex grumped.

"Nah, you guys are just bad at this." Nia snickered. "But we can play another game if you really want."

"We can play Uno." Brainy suggested. "This will be based on individual skills and luck so you cannot accuse us of lying." He pointed out.

"Yeah let's play that." Alex crossed her arms and Kara frowned. Lena and her always secretly teamed up during Uno. She watched Alex shuffle and hand out the cards herself because she didn't trust the other two not to cheat and keep a few cards hidden.

"Lena's still not here…" Kara mumbles as she picked up her cards slowly.

Alex looked up from her cards with a satisfied smirk at the two Draw 4 cards and looked at her sister's sulking pout. It was nearing 09:44PM and Lena has yet to arrive. "Alright you can give her a call and check up on her now. Lena is never this late." Alex shrugged as she threw down a yellow 5 card.

Kara dropped the cards on the table, making sure that they were facing down and hopped up to retrieve her phone from the couch. Kara dialed Lena's contact and lifted the phone to her ear. It rang a couple of times before it clicked and ended the call. Two knocks at the door came after. Kara's face lit up and she practically bounced to the door.

The door was pulled open and Lena stood at the door with her phone in one hand and a couple of plastic bags in the other. Kara immediately throws her arms around the brunette and Lena smiles awkwardly as she pats Kara's back with her less occupied hand. "Sorry I'm late. Got held up at work and then were a bit… sidetracked." Lena apologized as Kara pulled away. Kara's eyes scanned over Lena's face. Lena looked tired. Her hair was down but clearly disheveled and ruffled. Her work clothes still on and a bit crumpled. "I brought wine and snacks." She offered the bags.

"It's alright!" Kara gingerly took the bags and led Lena to the group where Alex was stubbornly shooting down any accusations of cheating about her two Draw 4 cards. She got those fair and square! "Oh! I made some smoothies earlier!" Kara shuffled away to the kitchen to retrieve her creation.

"Glad to see you join us, Luthor." Alex greeted as Lena sat on the couch to watch the ongoing game. "Watch me beat these two losers."

Lena glanced at the other two's cards from where she sat and chuckled quietly. "I wouldn't act so confident yet, Director." Alex was then bombarded with a continuous attack of reverse and draw 2 cards that dropped about 6 cards from Brainy and Nia each and upped Alex's cards to 12.

"Uno!" Nia exclaimed.

"I also call Uno." Brainy smiled at Alex's bewildered face.

"Ok, this is so not fair!" Alex complained. Kara walked back to the group with a single glass and handed it to Lena with a sunny smile. Lena raised an eyebrow at the drink and then up at Kara. Kara sheepishly smiled and plopped down to resume the game she had previously abandoned. "At least I still have the opportunity to beat Kara…" Kara placed a skip turn card down on the pile. "Oh, come ON!"

Lena chuckled and took a sip of the drink presented to her. Her eyes drifted to the new addition sitting next to Brainy and studied her quietly. She was casually well dressed with neat hair. Her posture was relaxed and comfortable against the couch. Her conversations easy going with the rest. Nia placed down her last card and punched the air in excitement, she threw in one last jab at Alex before sitting back up in the couch and turning to Lena. "Hello Miss Luthor, I'm Nia Nal, reporter in CatCo media." She offered a handshake that Lena easily accepted.

"Nice to meet you, Nia. You can call me Lena." She smiled. Her eyes flickered to the hand in hers and she turned it over with curiously. "What happened to your hand, Miss Nal?" Her knuckles were bruised and had small cuts over them.

"Oh, that's from… work!" Nia said. "I'm very clumsy."

"You got such injuries at the office, Miss Nal?" Lena raised an eyebrow. Lena knew these types of injuries came from either heavy training such as the one she's been getting, or from vigilante work. Which Lena assumed the latter would be correct. "That's very unfortunate."

"Y- Yeah." Nia smiled awkwardly, waiting for Lena to let go. She looked to Kara for help, who's been observing the scene with wide eyes along with Alex. "You have unusual eyes, Lena."

"Yes." Lena looked up for a second before looking down at the hand once more. "Yes." Lena trailed off. "I'm a meta." Lena let go of the hand and reached for the water pitcher on the table and moved it closer. "The color comes with the powers, I suppose." She gestured for Nia to hold out her hand. Brainy has stopped shuffling the cards and also started to watch. "This is also a new skill that I've learned recently."

Lena hovered her hand over the top of the pitcher and slowly moved the water up to her palm and to wrap around her hand. Lena grasped the hand in hers firmly when she sensed it hesitantly start to move away. Lena looked at Nia for a second before resting her hand on top of Nia's and spreading the water to Nia's. The water glowed briefly, and Nia gasped as she felt the dull throb in her hand fade away and being replaced by a chilling sensation. Lena pulled her hand and the water away to reveal a bruise free hand.

"There" Lena guided the water away and back into the pitcher. "You might want to be careful next time you go out and fight some bad guys." Lena watched as Nia's expression turned from fascinated to fearful. "Don't be afraid, but it isn't really that hard to figure out who's an alien and who's not." Lena spoke nonchalantly and shrugged. She was aware of the deadly silence that fell upon the group, so she picked up the pitcher and announced that she was going to change the water in it.

"Do you think she knows?" Kara asked fearfully as Lena left their sight. An unsettling feeling formed in her stomach at Lena knowing before Kara told her herself. Oh Rao, Kara waited too long hadn't she?

"There is a 76 percent chance that Miss Luthor knows you are Supergirl." Brainy added and Kara gulped.

"Maybe… Maybe that's not the case. Maybe… she just made an off-hand comment." Kara's unsettling feeling grew.

"Look, we don't know anything for sure." Alex whisper yelled, sensing her sister's growing panic. "Lena will say something if she knows or has any suspicions, alright?" She assured. "Now stop this and act normal!"

Lena came back to the group with a freshwater pitcher and sat down as if nothing had happened. "So, what are we playing now?"

"Well, we thought we could play cards against humanity since we don't have balanced teams." Alex replied.

"Sure." Lena agreed. "I like that game."

The rest of the evening went smoothly with no problems. Kara was relived to see Lena acting so normally and not at all suspicious of her. She was on edge the entire time and came very close to blurting out 'I'm an alien!' several times if it weren't for Alex stopping her from making a fool of herself. Game night was coming to an end and Kara couldn't wait anymore. She would pull Lena aside and tell her now.

Lena couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't sit her and pretend that these people were her friends any longer. She had to leave. Now. The more time passes, the more Lena's distaste of Kara's lying face grew. She knew that Alex and the others hadn't had much to blame for, they were merely being good friends and keeping their friends' secret, but Lena hated that they were keeping it from her. Why her? Lena had been "friends" with Kara for over three years now. Yet, she trusted these two, Brainy and Nia Nal more than she trusted her. She only just met them.

Lena gathered her things and excused herself to leave early. She could see the panic wash over Kara, but she didn't care. If she stayed even a moment longer, she'd simply blow up and Lena wouldn't let herself be this weak. Lena muttered a quick goodbye and headed to the door. "Lena, wait!" She ignored the call and placed her hand on the knob. "Lena, please!"

"What, Kara?!" Lena asked coldly, making Kara stop in her tracks.

"I… I need to tell you something. Something important." Kara stated. "About me."

"I can't now, Kara." Lena shook her head. "I need to go. We can do this later."

"But, Lena." Kara pleaded. "This is important. Please listen."

"No, Kara." Lena said firmly. "I have things to do. We'll talk about this later." Lena's eyes fell onto the awkward people on the couch who were trying to look away and not stare. She wasn't about to have this conversation in front of them. Lena looked back at Kara to see her lips trembling and Lena pursed hers. She knew that the dampening of Kara's eyes would soon follow but she still wasn't going to yield to the pout. "I'll see you soon, Kara." Lena looked away and ignored the sniffle. She opened the door and made her way outside.

She couldn't face this yet. Maybe she was just as much of a coward as she thought Kara was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I added a new power out of nowhere. The next chapter will explain why Lena was late and how she knows how to heal now. I also feel bad for almost making Kara cry but I don't want her to tell Lena now. She'll tell her soon-ish (in about 4-5 chapters maybe). Tess will definitely be making her move soon too. she didn't get the Harun-El so you get a shot of guessing again if you want. 
> 
> I'm now splitting my time to write two stories. The second one hasn't been posted or even finished yet (I'm planning a one-shot but it'll probably take more than one long chapter)
> 
> I'll be back next week, if not earlier, with the next chapter. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter is supposed to be an explanation for what happened in the one before so hopefully, it's satisfactory.  
> It's also a bit shorter because I've done it literally in a few hours so I could put it up tonight.  
> Enjoy :)!

Lena had managed to leave work early after her visit to R&D. Passing by Jess' office to ask if she had any meetings to attend, which thankfully she didn't. Lena informed her assistant that she'd be heading out and that Jess was welcome to do the same.

She had checked her phone for the time and decided that it was much too early to go home or to Kara's, so she sat in her car and quietly leaned back into the seat to think of something to do in the meantime. Going to her family's house now was not a good idea because it'll simply take too long to go back and forth and that might result in her missing game night. Even if Lena's curiosity was starting to creep up on her, she had promised to attend tonight, and she didn't want to break that promise. Lena sighed and rubbed her eyes.

She stared at her golden iris's in the rearview mirror and frowned. She should probably get some contact lenses soon. She didn't want the word of her newfound powers to get out to the public. The last thing anyone would want is a Luthor with powers. The color was too distinct not to be immediately recognizable either. Lena inserted her key and turned the car on, intending on driving aimlessly to pass the time.

Lena found herself unconsciously driving to her mother's beach house. It was empty as expected. And Lena was sad that she didn't get to see her as much as before but Atlanna's safety was far more important than Lena's feelings. Lena didn't want her back with Lex leaving prison whenever he pleased. She left her car and sat close by on the ground. Her eyes drifting from the calm crashing waves to the Atlantean vehicle parked near the shore. She knew she could leave and meet her family whenever she wanted but there was so much she'd be leaving at risk if she did. Lex was planning something, and Lena would not allow anyone to get hurt like her mother was.

She found her fingers gently weaving their way in the sand in front of her. An all too familiar symbol forming, and Lena scoffed wiping it away.

"I see you've made a habit of coming here, Lena."

Lena looked over at Vulko who was approaching slowly with a smile. She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were back in Atlantis."

"No," He shook his head. "After our last encounter, I decided to stay for a while and catch up on the human's world on the surface."

"Oh." Lena said.

"I must say though; I was waiting for you to come around here."

"Why?"

"After your abrupt leave last time, I didn't get time to explain to you where our powers come from as Atlanteans." Vulko shrugged and sat down next to Lena.

"What do you mean?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Have you never wondered HOW you and the rest of Atlantis came to have these powers?" Vulko asked. "Long ago, we were as capable as humans and now, we have abilities beyond belief."

"… I suppose I never did wonder." Lena admitted. The past few weeks had been hectic, and Lena never had any peace of mind to sit around and wonder. Between her duties as CEO, her training at the DEO and looking for Lex and his plans, Lena had very limited time to herself. "And I'm assuming you're here to tell me that?"

"Yes." Vulko nodded. "Do you remember what I told you back in Atlantis?"

"About how Atlantis sunk and king Atlan?"

"Yes. That was when we, Atlanteans, had acquired our powers." Vulko said. "You see, we have discovered the secrets of unlimited energy and that turned out to be our ancestor's demise." Lena nodded lightly; she remembered this part. "There used to be towers to utilize that energy, scattered all over the kingdom. But one day, they have collapsed, sending Atlantis into the bottom of the sea. A huge blast of energy had escaped those towers and washed over Atlantis." Vulko explained. "Our ancestors suffered. A strange and foreign energy had merged with them, mutated them, their bodies rejected it. The next generation was much more fortunate than those who came before, they had been born with this energy, it was a part of them. And so, they had been able to discover the potential it held."

Lena listened intently as she imagined how terrible that must've been for those who had witnessed the collapse. But was thankful that the despair hadn't carried over.

"The powers we were given are extraordinary. Breathing under water is the feat we are most known for, of course. But we are capable of so much more." Vulko smiled. "What have you discovered so far about our powers, Lena?"

"Well," Lena started. "I know that we could withstand colder temperatures, see better in the depths of the ocean, swim really fast. We cannot be hurt by human made metal." Lena listed the things Arthur taught her. "I also know that Arthur could communicate with the creatures of the sea." Lena hadn't been able to achieve this yet, might have a better chance at it if she actually came down to the sea more often instead of getting holed up at Lcorp or the DEO. "We can control water… and other fluids." Lena trailed off, shamefully remembering how she'd attacked her own mother using these powers.

"We can also," Vulko retrieved a pocketknife from the pocket of his suit and showed his hand to Lena. "Heal."

Lena's eyebrows raised all the way her hairline. Heal? What sort of witchcraft were they NOT capable of?

"Observe." He said and ran the edge of the knife gently along his palm to form a small cut that oozed drips of blood. Vulko used his other hand to move a small amount of water from the sea and wrap it around the non wounded hand. "Now, look closer." Vulko's eyes glowed blue -a color that Lena remembers Mera donning as well while she taught her- and he placed the water wrapped hand over his cut, a faded blue light emerged from it seconds later. Like a pulse, the light glowed and when Vulko finally removed his hand, it was as if there was never a wound in the first place.

"What…?" Lena breathed softly. "How did you… do that?"

"Remember what I've told you about chakras?" Vulko asked. "To be able to do this, you must focus your chakra into the water. Let the energy flow from your own body into the water and focus on the wound. Imagine it closing slowly from both edges until there is nothing left."

"Does this only work on Atlanteans?"

"No, you can help whoever you choose." Vulko said.

"Does it only work on physical injuries?" Lena asked curiously.

"It also works on mental and spiritual ones as well, but the process is a lot harder to execute. I wouldn't recommend you do it without proper training, which you can receive if you'd come to Atlantis more often." Vulko smiled teasingly. "You can attempt to soothe a mental injury by calming the subject but attempting to cure it without knowledge of how to do that might result in making the situation worse."

"I see."

"Atlanteans have been, for the longest time, masters at healing." Vulko proudly stated. "A shame that our knowledge cannot be passed along to others."

"Indeed, it is." Lena agreed.

"This is all I have to teach you for now, princess." Vulko said. "I will be seeing you soon when you are ready for more knowledge."

"Are you going back to Atlantis now?" She asked sadly, it was selfish of her, but she didn't want the last Atlantean sticking around to leave as well. She missed her family terribly, but she must stay.

"Yes. I've stayed away for too long now."

"Oh, okay." Lena said, disappointed. "I need to get going now too, it's getting late, the others are waiting for me."

"See you soon, princess."

"Goodbye, Vulko." Lena smiled one last time before heading back to her car and driving away.

…

Lena had gone to game night late, she blamed National City's ridiculously trafficked streets and her inability to attend something without bringing something along. Lena had hoped that the evening would go quietly and without much trouble. It did but Lena couldn't help but get upset at nothing and now she had stormed out of Kara's apartment in anger. She stomped over to her car and slammed the door after she got inside. Lena tried desperately to calm herself. To shove this intense feeling of anger down in a little mind box. But it was too much.

And now, Lena found herself driving way too fast away from National City. The only thing she could do right now is distract herself and Lena grasped into the first thing that came to mind. Father's study. Lena drove for hours and by the time she had arrived at the Luthor Mansion, it was already past midnight and Lena had significantly calmed down, thankfully. Lex always proved to be an efficient distraction. Lena walked inside, one thought on her mind. She was going to put an end to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the things Vulko had said was just bullshit that I made up, including how to heal. But it sort of makes sense!  
> Lena finally went to the Luthor Mansion to get some answers and to get away from everyone. And y'all will finally get some insight into Tess. Lena and Tess will meet soon, and shit will finally go down because I've missed writing action. There has been none so far and that has been bothering me from the beginning.
> 
> Next chapter should be next week as always, I was a bit late this week because I'm still working out the one-shot I've been planning. 
> 
> Tell me what you think, and I'll see you next week!
> 
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new update, yay! 
> 
> I had fun writing this chapter, even though there isn't much dialogue as the other ones. This is directly following the past two chapters(?). You'll be getting more insight on Tess here!
> 
> Enjoy, and comment at the end!

A soft hum could be heard throughout the apartment Tess stayed at, the blonde sitting in front of the window. Looking at Lcorp with a small smirk, today was the day…

The phone in her lap vibrated for a call, and Tess answered.

"The plan is ready to commence, Miss Luthor."

"Perfect." Tess said and hung up. Today was the day Lena Luthor dies.

…

Lena never thought she'd ever come back to this house. Yet here she was. Wandering the halls just like the first time she'd walked them two decades ago. Nothing has changed, the same fancy paintings littering the walls, the same expensive vases at every corner, the same uncomfortable furniture along the halls and in the rooms. Lena hated all of them.

Admittedly, Lena roamed aimlessly in order to delay going to Father's study. She didn't know what sort of things awaited her there and Lena still wanted time to mentally prepare herself. She found herself going to her room and spent the night there hoping that by morning, she'd be in a better state of mind to dive into whatever Father had in store for her.

Lena slept in her childhood bed feeling like the lost little 4-year-old girl that once slept here. The room was clean, not a speck of dust in sight. She supposed that the house wasn't as abandoned as she thought it was. The staff were clearly still coming here and keeping the house in a good state. What a waste it was for the owners to all be dispatched.

The next morning, Lena sat quietly on the bed. Staring at the corner where a worn old bear sat in a neat pile of toys. Lena frowned, the last time she's been here was a few weeks after Father died. Before Lillian had sent her off to boarding school in Ireland. The bear had been a gift from Father when he had come to collect her from the temporary house she stayed in after Mother left her.

She sighed and pulled herself to her feet. She put on the clothes she'd shed from last night and grabbed her phone, wallet and keys off the nightstand. Time to face the music, she supposed.

Father's office was as big as Lena remembered. A wide desk at the end of the room, in front of a large glass window that was framed by elegant curtains. Two chairs placed directly in front of the desk. Lena remembers sitting there reading as Father worked. A bookcase at each side of the room, thick books and journals on the shelves along with a single chess board. Paintings of the Luthor family lined up on the walls, taken annually and always in the same pose, similar clothing. They've stopped taking them after Father had passed, of course.

Walking around the desk, Lena sat in the huge chair and leaned back. Her eyes scanned the items on the surface in front of her and she reached for a single picture frame. As cold as father was, Lena could never say that he didn't somewhat love his family. Even Lex, who he was always in conflict with. Just like herself and Lillian.

She wished she could believe that Lillian cared about her, but she spent her entire life being antagonized by the woman and she simply couldn't just accept it yet. Lena remembers coming to this office and hiding behind Father's desk while Lillian looked for her. Father would send Lillian away with a small smirk that Lena was always ever so grateful for.

Lena put the picture back and stood up with a sigh.

Lillian said, "A safe behind the last family portrait". Lena stood before the mentioned portrait and ran her fingers over the edges of the frame to the find which side to pull.

The safe was obviously broken into. By Lex no doubt. Lena frowned as she opened the damaged door and found some remains of papers that Lex must have thought to be useless. She reached out and collected them, hoping to salvage any form of information she could.

The remains mainly consisted of torn paper scraps and smaller notes. No wonder Lex left them, each of them only had one or two letters, sometimes numbers written down. Lena laid them down on the desk and stared, hoping to find a connection somehow. Lena found four numbers in total, she assumed it to be a year by the presence of the numbers 1 and two 9's, the remaining number made for the year 1997. Lena raised an eyebrow. That was the year Lena had been adopted. Golden eyes trailed back to the line of portraits and found the year beneath the first portrait she had been in. Would that also have a safe, she wondered.

Lena didn't head over the portrait immediately; she knew it'll probably have a password or code to unlock. So, Lena looked over the scraps once again, what remains are letters. Lena spent a few minutes trying to find the best possible combination and nodded to herself as she turned around and headed over the portrait and pulled it away from the wall.

Another safe was there, Lena didn't really care to know why it looks more secure than the other, but she'd assume it was simply to ward off Lex. Lena put in the word "Lutessa" and was satisfied to see the green light as it released a puff of air and opened. Lena pulled out the contents and quickly went through them.

Adoption papers, legal name change papers, birth certificates, medical records and a… death certificate?

Lena sat down on the chair and looked at each paper with a more insightful look. Lena looked at the birth certificates first. There were only two in the stack, hers that only had Lionel as the parent and also hers with Lillian's name on it? Lena looked at the year, 1995, that was two years after she had been born, was this a falsely written document? The name read, Lutessa Lena Luthor. Lena's eyes shot up in surprise. That was the name on the newspaper in earth 1. So, she's here as well?

The next paper was Lena's legal name change. From Angelina Kieran Luthor to Lena Kieran Luthor. Interesting… Lena had never paid the name change any mind as a child. Sam used to joke that it was to keep the Luthor family strictly names that started with L. This might not be the case after all.

Medical records were very interesting. Father knew Atlanna was not human, therefore, Lena wouldn't be either, not completely. Lena's medical records were, very detailed to say the least. Apparently, necessary precautions had been taken to conceal Lena's true heritage. Lena wondered why her skin had been able to be pierced by needles while now kitchen knives aren't able to. They've been using Atlantean metal in the needles all that time. She didn't concern herself with how and where they had been able to acquire it, yet.

Lutessa's medical records weren't as extraordinary as Lena's, unfortunately. Lutessa had been diagnosed with a spinal cord injury since birth and was never released from the hospital. Makes sense as to why she isn't in any family portraits, Lena supposed. The report states that treatment had been handled by Lillian herself before they have been abruptly cut off a year later. An unsettling feeling washed over Lena as she looked at the death certificate that still laid untouched.

She didn't need to read the content to know what happened.

Suddenly, Lena felt a wave of grief for the sister she never knew. And for Lillian, to lose a child she had never been able to hold at home must've been hard, not to mention that no more than a year later, her husband's bastard came to live in the house looking exactly like the deceased baby. Lena could now understand why Lillian never could withstand looking at her. If Lutessa looked anything like the person in that newspaper, she and Lena could pass off as the same person as children since Lena was naturally a blonde. Lena started dying her hair after Lionel died because she didn't want to look like Lillian.

Father changing her name to Lena apparently added salt to Lillian's wound.

This was all heavy to take in, but Lena still can't shake the question of why Lex would need or want this information. Their sister is dead. There's no need for him to break into Father's safe and take this information, unless…

Lena picked up the untouched death certificate and an envelope flopped out from between the pages.

"Lena,

You finding this letter means that I must have died long ago, yet you come for answers.

I'm sure you've figured out by now who Lutessa is. Lutessa is Lillian and I's daughter that we've thought we'd lost to an illness long ago. Lillian never quite believed that she's gone despite me insisting that she's only hurting herself by thinking that way. Never would I have imagined that she'd be correct.

Lutessa is alive, I wouldn't say well but she's alive. We only figure this out after ten years. It was a silly mistake, really. A similarly named baby, with the same features and the same illness had died that night. Yet the hospital filed for our daughter to be the one deceased instead. I couldn't find your sister due to my own illness which I have apparently died from since this letter remains… Find her, Lena. She'd been given the name of the deceased baby, Tess Mercer. Lex has been looking for her, never stopped looking. You can't let him find her first

Please save your sister, Lena.

Father."

Lena dropped the letter and rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Tess Mercer." She muttered. "She's been in my company. I met her." She continued to speak to herself. "God fucking dammit!" Lena threw her hands up in exasperation and trailed them angrily down her face. "How could I not recognize her from the newspaper?!"

Lena took a deep breath and calmed herself. She took her phone put and texted Jess, asking for any information about the intern Tess Mercer to be sent to her immediately. Lena leaned back into the chair as she waited. Ten minutes later, Jess texted back saying that there is no such person in Lcorp's database. Lena raised an eyebrow. But why would she be in my elevator then…? Oh.

"FUCK!" Lena jumped to her feet. "Lex found her, oh my fucking god." Lena raced outside. She needed to go to Lcorp immediately.

Lena was pretty sure she ran at least five red lights as she drove back to National City. It took her about three hours while normally it would take five. Lena frantically pressed the button to her elevator.

"Miss Luthor?" Jess said as she walked closer to Lena. "Something has arrived for you today."

"I'm really busy right now, Jess." Lena brushed off and impatiently tapped her fingers on her arms as she crossed them.

"It seems pretty urgent, Miss Luthor." Jess pulled out a small envelope and Lena groaned at yet another letter. Lena took it and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Thank you, Jess." Lena exclaimed as the elevator doors finally opened. "I'll be in my lab then I might be heading out."

"Very well, Miss Luthor." Jess nodded.

Lena pulled out the letter as the elevator descended and tiredly opened it. It seems like every time she opens a letter; someone magically comes back from the dead. "Who's alive again this time?" She mumbled to herself. Lena read the words quickly and her eyebrows raised. The contents of the letter were a simple:

"I need help. Please come.

-Tess"

Along with attached coordinates. Lena remembered the words Father left her. 'Please save your sister, Lena.' There was a ding and the elevator opened to reveal her lab. Lena scanned the surfaces of her tables with her eye and frowned. None of her research had been touched, nor any of the Harun-El she had left or any of her prototypes. Lena was about to relax and breath out in relief when she reached her Atlantis research table. Lena froze.

Her trident was missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do y'all think of the little background on Tess I gave you? And why do you think Tess chose to take Lena's trident of all things?  
> Tell me what you think :D!
> 
> Oh, and if you don't know yet, I was going to write a one-shot but I was impatient and posted it while I only had the intro so now I have two fics to keep updating. It's called "Rebirth" and it's about a Lena/Morgana reincarnation AU. If you think you'd be up for that, go ahead and check it out in my profile.  
> Walk on Water is still my priority though and I'll keep updating it weekly, Rebirth updates will depend on how fast I can write them between WoW chapters.
> 
> Check out my Tumblr for updates on both, or for SG content. It's @fandomdojo
> 
> See you next week!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a week late into posting this. So sorry lol.  
> I was just lazy and wanted to lay down all day instead of doing something useful. But I did this and I just wanna say that I will NOT be giving up on this story, I might be slower to update but its actually ending soon (I'm estimating around 10 or so chapters) so I want to finish it as soon as I can.

A letter. It was always a letter that fucked things over for Lena. A letter was the reason she now lived a completely different life. A letter was the reason she found she was now tasked with saving someone's life that Lena wasn't even sure wanted to be saved. And a letter was the reason she now stood before an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city. Lena could recognize it as one of LuthorCorp's old and shut down properties.

The area was void of any life, it wasn't dark, but Lena could feel a sense of dread crawling up her neck. Lena took a deep breath to calm herself and found some relief in seeing the large water body underneath a small dock at the far corner of the warehouse. If she were to get in a bad situation, she'd have a chance to get herself out of it.

She took out the note that was delivered to her this morning in Lcorp and looked at the coordinates once more to see if she was at the correct location. There was no time written down so Lena decided to simply go as soon as she could and get this over with. She knew she wouldn't be able to get it out of her mind now that she had some information to keep the thoughts running.

Testing the front doors of the warehouse, Lena was pleased to see that it was open. Good, she thought, she wouldn't need to "break in". although the property was hers either way.

Various thoughts raced in Lena's mind, what would she be seeing in there? Why would Tess choose this specific location to meet? Was this a trap? Lena knew that Lex found their sister first so a trap wouldn't be a farfetched possibility. But what if Lex was holding her hostage and she truly needed help? Lena would never turn her back on her family when they needed her, not even Lex.

The doors creaked loudly as she pushed them, and Lena flinched. So much for trying to be discreet.

A partly empty storeroom was in her sight. Lena pursed her lips and marched further into the room, avoiding the dusty, cloth covered objects scattered inside. She warily looked around, there was no one around, maybe she should just screw this and go home?

"You came."

Lena's head snapped to the side where Tess sat on her wheelchair with her hands folded on her lap. She frowned and faced her quietly. "You asked me to."

"I didn't think you'd come."

"Of course, I would." Lena furrowed her brows in confusion. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You don't even know who I am." Tess replied. "Why would you come to help a stranger?"

"But we aren't strangers," Lena said. "Are we?"

"I know who you are, Lena Luthor. And I'm sure you know who I am by now."

"Lutessa Luthor. I honestly didn't know who you were until this morning." Lena admitted. "But now I do. We're family."

"You aren't a part of our family!" Tess spat. "You were a petty replacement. A mistake. You shouldn't have been a Luthor."

Lena paused in surprise; she took a moment to compose herself before saying. "Was Lex the one to tell you that?"

"Everyone cast me away in favor of you." Tess growled, gripping the edge of her chair. "I could never be the perfect Luthor they hoped I'd be. I was a cripple! I was weak." She laughed with a scoff. "You on the other hand, were perfect to replace me. You looked like me, he gave you my name and you lived my life!"

Lena was momentarily stunned. Tess wasn't done yet though.

"It should have been me living with the Luthors, it should've been me among MY family." Tess glared. "And you were supposed to live as far away from us as possible!"

Lena's eyes widened, she was speechless and unable to do anything as Tess continued.

"Did you know that no one ever came to pick me up from the hospital? I lived there, for 5 years before I was allowed to leave. But I had no one come for me. I was placed in the worst orphanage and I never left there. No one wanted a crippled kid, their expenses too high." Tess swallowed and schooled her features back to a neutral expression. "Lex found me. He showed me how you reveled in living someone else's life. But now, you won't even have a life to live."

Lena's eyes narrowed, glowing a tad bit brighter and her chin raises. "So, you called me here, sent me a call for help, just to ambush me and kill me?"

"No, not entirely. I did want to talk beforehand." Tess smiled innocently.

"Why are you listening to Lex?" Lena asked with a frown. "He won't help you if that's what you think he's doing."

"He's making me a cure. And once you're dealt with, we'll Lcorp's resources to make a finished version." Tess said, reaching into the arm of her chair and pressing a button. "When I can finally get rid of my illness, I'll be the one running MY family's company." She retrieved a syringe.

"A cure?" Lena scoffed. "Lex can't synthesize anything to save his own life, you're trusting him with yours?"

"Of course not." Tess replied. "I'll be having your employees make it for me."

"You do realize that if you had simply reached out to me, I would have helped you, right?" Lena asked with a frown. "We could've worked together to cure you. I have the means to actually help you."

"I don't want your help." Tess stated.

"Not even your mother's help?" Lena asked. "She's a doctor."

"She gave up on me." Lena could see the tremble in Tess's lips from where she stood. "Everyone did."

"She thinks you're dead." Lena shook her head. "everyone thought you were. Mother, Father, they didn't know you were alive."

"You lie." Tess narrowed her eyes, Ignoring Lena's attempts at convincing her. "Well, she'll know just like everyone else will. When the news of your death is announced." Lena watched helplessly as several doors around them opened and henchmen started trickling into the room. Lena looked around frantically to find an exit. "You really can't escape." Tess drawled, twirling the syringe between her fingers before injecting it into her wrist. "A shame. You seem nice, I'd hate to kill you."

Tess closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she inserted the serum into herself, her hand clenched into a fist and shook before her eyes opened. Lena noted that she looked less shaken, more determined. Lena's jaw dropped as Tess pushed herself off the chair and walked around a huge covered item. Lena took that as an opportunity to flee before the henchmen completely surrounded her.

The exits were all blocked, there was no way she'd be able to reach them before any of them caught up to her. She's severely outnumbered. Were there any windows or exits she could reach? The ceiling was almost completely made of glass, she realized. Lena jumped onto the nearest flat surface and kicked the man who reached to grab her in the face.

She evaded any oncoming projectile and reached into her jacket for a flask of water. She'd started carrying this around for emergencies like this.

Uncapping the flask and spilling the water, Lena wrapped the water around her wrist. She had just jumped onto the highest item in the room and was now contemplating whether she'd fall to her death or successfully reach the dangling hooks from the roof.

"Time to take a leap of faith." She whispered to herself. "Quite literally."

The water around her arm, was thankfully just enough to reach and have enough volume to hold her up. Lena slowly rose her other arm to join the other in the water grip and hunched her shoulders to hide her face from the barrage of bullets firing at her from below. Thank god she was immune to human made metal; she would have dropped dead before she even had time to make a move back on the ground.

Reaching the glass ceiling, Lena fumbled to free an arm and hopefully be able to punch a decent sized hole in it. Hearing another wave of bullets, Lena ducked her head. When she looked back up, the glass had been pierced in multiple places that Lena was easily able to break around and expand.

She was now on the roof, she prayed that the glass wouldn't break beneath her as she ran. The bullets have suddenly stopped shooting past her feet. She would just have to run to the left side where that giant lake was, and she'd be safe.

"I told you, you can't escape."

Tess said from behind her and Lena barely got a glimpse before she felt multiple sharp pains in her back. She looked down at her stomach and chest, the pointy edges from her trident were poking out of her body and Lena stumbled backwards. She saw Tess's smirking face as she lost her footing on the edge. Lena's golden eyes faded back into greens as she fell off the roof.

The blonde watched with a hard gaze as Lena's body broke the surface of the water, her brows furrowing as a faint blue glow emerged, but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared.

A strangled gasp left her mouth as she felt her fingers started numbing. "No, no it shouldn't be wearing off this fast." She mumbled as her knees buckled. Her own eyes closing just as her body hit the concrete edge of the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little bit shorter but it gets the point across. Tell me what you think and HOPEFULLY, the next chapter will actually be next week this time.  
> Ya'll think Lena is dead? And what will happen to Tess now that she suddenly lost consciousness?  
> Oh and, you think Tess will ever get to meet Lillian? 
> 
> All will be known soon, I guess.
> 
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liiive.  
> And I update!  
> Ok so, the story is actually getting close to an end, which I'm really happy about (Maybe 5+/- chapters now). This story took sooo long and still is. So, I did decide to make the part2 but it definitely won't take this long, I am spent!  
> Anyway, read and enjoy!  
> Tell me if you're looking forward to part 2 or nah, I need your opinion for the plot.

"I told you, you can't escape."

Lena hadn't had the time to do anything before she was impaled. Her eyes widening in horror as the triple-edged weapon showed its spears through the fabric of her shirt. Through the flesh of her body. She let out a pained gasp and turned to look at her sister with fearful eyes.

The weight of the trident pulled her back and caused her to lose her footing at the edge. Lena's bright eyes dulled back to green as she fell to her death in the depths below. Never losing contact with the hardened gaze of the blonde above.

Breaking the surface of the water, Lena sank as she succumbed to unconsciousness, her face pale and eyes unfocused. The long handle of the trident guided her body down to the void below and just as she reached the bottom. Lena's eyes snapped open, a blank expression taking hold as her arms spread out and hands shakily clenched. Her body rested, suspended as a catacomb of ice formed around her. The power draining from her body and into the water surrounding her and omitting a flash of bright light as her eyes closed once more. The water glows repeatedly in soft pulses.

And then, there was darkness.

Lena could feel her surroundings, the water was gentle on her skin, though it was cold, Lena only felt warmth. The icy shell was thick and folded upon Lena's weak and bleeding body, but it did nothing to muffle the voices outside. In her half dead state, Lena could hear voices. They speak in short words, erratic and anxious. She didn't know who the voices belonged to, she assumed it was her memories playing out in her mind as she felt her life drain away.

'Stay Alive' She heard.

But why? It's so easy to keep her eyes closed and drift off into darkness. She's so tired, so worn of this life. All Lena wants right now is to let the calm, swaying waves to carry her off to sleep. To leave the pain behind. Many voices encouraged her to open her eyes, but she didn't want to. She was so exhausted. The voices get close enough that she hears a word or two and drift away just as fast.

'Save this selfish world'

It would be so easy, to remain where she is and leave the surface to its own devices. To leave the surface in Lex's hands and never look back, they would never accept her help anyway. Every time she tries to help, the people of this city spat in her face and cursed her name. They think that she's a heartless monster, incapable of feeling. Lena wished they would feel her pain for once. To feel the overwhelming waves of emotion she goes through every day. Her pain is unseen, unheard, it is a silent killer that robs Lena of any joy she could ever have. It never goes away, it follows, and it eats at her, until there is nothing left.

Lena had hope for a while, saw a beacon of light enter her dark and lonely life. She thought she could have a chance, at last, to have love and acceptation among people who would accept her for who she was. People who could see through the darkness that surrounds Lena like an aura and chase it away.

Oh, what a bittersweet moment it was to know that they were all lying to her face. She could hear Lex's voice, taunting her and telling her what a joke she must've been to believe that. Again, and again, life proves to Lena that she is simply not allowed to have happiness, not from family, not from friends and certainly not from the public.

She didn't know how long she'd been here; wallowing in her dark thoughts, she could feel the temperature changing a few times. Clearly a sign of days passing. But a distant rumble disturbed her, she could feel something approaching quickly. Something heavy slammed into her small cocoon. Lena wanted it to stop, but she was paralyzed and could do nothing to stop it. Another blow cracked the ice, and others followed desperately.

'Save this selfish world'

The last blow completely shattered her safe shell and Lena's body jerked as a hand grasped her arm. A strong grip that pulled her into a warm body that struggled to swim upwards with her, a dead weight that kept slipping from the person's grasp.

Lena lost whatever consciousness she had when they broke out of the water

'Save this selfish world'

Waking to the sound of continuous beeps and an eerie silence, all Lena sees is white. A bright white that irritates her eyes and forces her to squeeze them shut. Her eyes feel heavy and bloated, as if she'd spent hours crying continuously without a break. Her nose is stuffy, and she has trouble breathing, each time she inhales, a sharp pain stabs at her chest and she flinches. Her mouth is dry and salty.

Dim green eyes shift to the side as they reopen. The medical bay at the DEO, this is where she is. Her back throbs and so does her front, her body aches at the slightest move and she frowns deeply. Why is she still here? Couldn't she have just died back there? Lena knows that this was inevitable, her suffering has to continue, Lena just doesn't know why. She wished she could have those fleeting minutes when her mind was blank as she woke, when she knew about nothing and no one, a blissful ignorance before her memory kicks back and floods. Her heart drops and her stomach sinks, she squeezes her eyes shut hoping this is a dream, maybe these are just her last moments, she desperately thinks.

Her rates races and so does the beeping, she could hear hurried steps approaching and she hurriedly closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down and pretend to be asleep. She wasn't ready to face anyone yet, she wasn't ready to face the person who'd saved her and brought her back to this terrible life, denying her of a much-deserved rest.

The door bursts open, and a swooshing sound stops at her bedside, Lena stills her face. She could hear anxious breathing and light pacing. Lena figures out that this is Kara if the flutter of the cape and the scrunching boots where any indication. A couple of hurried footsteps shuffle into the room.

"She's not awake yet!" Kara says anxiously and bites her nails while she paces. She stops as her eyes lay on her sister and exclaims. "Why isn't she waking up?!"

"Calm down, she will soon." Alex soothed as she walked to Lena's bedside and checked her vitals. "She's been ok to wake up days ago, she just needs to do it."

"What if she doesn't?" Kara asked with a pang of fear.

"She will." Alex promised. "We just have to wait for her."

Lena felt goosebumps spreading on her body as a hand laid on her arm and a cool forehead laid next to her head. She held her breath as a shaky breath released in her ear and a quiet mumble spoken. "Please wake up, Lena, I… I miss you." Kara whispered tearfully. "We all do."

Alex looked at the scene with a heavy heart. She wanted more than anything for Lena to wake up. For her sake and for the sake of the teary blonde. Kara had not rested when she found out that Lena went missing a couple of weeks ago. Jess had called the blonde informing her that the young CEO had went to meet someone and never returned which had caused both Danvers' to panic.

Finding the Atlantean's heartbeat proved to be impossible so they'd resorted to tracking the Luthor's last location before her phone had fried in the water. And that was when they had found Lutessa laying helplessly on the roof of the warehouse. The blonde was stubborn and refused to give out any information to the hero. Alex had been genuinely worried for the paralyzed woman; she had never seen her sister so frantic and so angry before. She wishes she could say Kara would have shown restraint and talked calmly but the Kryptonian was ready to threaten Tess with laser vision if it wasn't for the redhead's intervention.

"Come on, Kara." Alex said. "Let's leave her to rest."

Kara sighed and nodded. She pressed a gentle kiss to Lena's head before standing. "What are we going to do about… Her?" She asked with a whisper. She meant Lutessa but she felt weird saying her name.

"For now, there's nothing we can do." Alex finished resetting a machine. "She won't talk to us and we can't help her if we don't have any information."

"Do you think she'll talk if Lena spoke to her?" Kara asked.

"As far as we know, she was the one who did this to Lena." Alex said. "I'm not sure she'll be happy to give her information to Lena either."

"Can't we just, attach a truth seeker to her?" Kara asked impatiently.

"No, her body is fragile, and we don't know if she could handle a parasite attached to it." Alex sighed.

Lena heard Kara groan and Alex walking around, presumably to push the blonde out of the room. She sighed and groggily opened her eyes after the click of the door. She cracked her neck to the side where a bedside table laid empty save for two items, a flower vase and a phone. Lena recognized it as hers and she slowly reached out to grab it, ignoring the floppy feeling of numbness in it.

She frowned at seeing the date, it's been exactly 10 days since she's gone to confront Tess in the warehouse and Lena wondered how long she had stayed in the water. How long did Tess stay out there before they found her? How long was she unconscious for? She could easily call the Danvers' back in the room and ask but she really didn't want to talk to them. What would she even say? Lena was afraid that if she opened her mouth, all of the dark thoughts that has been swimming around in her head would surface before she could stop them.

Her finger shakily swiped into the device, she wondered how it could still work, surely a long time in the water must've ruined the circuits. Her eyes picked up a lack of cracks in the screen and she assumes that Brainy has moved the content of her old phone to a new one. Not that she has anything in it other than emails.

Reading through the massive amount of texts she had from Jess and Kara alone, Lena moved on to read through a news site. Articles had been published about her disappearance and Lena internally groaned at the thought of having to deal with that. She hated the media. She was about to turn off the device and put it back on the nightstand, but an icon stopped her before she could. specifically, a blue bird icon.

Twitter and Instagram were the apps that Kara had downloaded on her phone a while ago, Lena never actually used them. She knew that Kara had probably published some posts on her behalf to let the people of National City know that the resident good Luthor had joined the world of internet but that was about it. Lena had never personally gone inside the apps and done anything herself. Might as well, she told herself as she clicked the icon. A post would surely sate the media for a while, right?

Lena knew how to do this; Jess had taught her how beneficial it is to use Twitter to get the company more exposure. Despite Kara's best efforts at teaching her, the blonde's rambling didn't prove to be very effective. But Jess had been a surprisingly good and patient teacher. Lena weakly lifted the device up to a good angle and snapped a picture of herself, her middle finger directed at the screen with a blank, deadpanned expression on her sickly face.

Once she was satisfied with the picture, Lena attached it and added a caption that she thought was very appropriate for the situation.

"Lena L.@ LenaLuthor

@LexLuthor I lived bitch"

Lena hit send and waited a couple of minutes for batches of notifications to flood her phone. She dropped her phone to her side and closed her eyes tiredly. Time to face her "friends".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys thought I had Lena have social media for no reason, didn't you? Well, it had a reason and this was it. that's it.  
> I never add details that I won't use.  
> Tell me what you think of this chapter! I need to go start chapter 3 of Rebirth now, if you're waiting on it, don't worry, it's coming.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @fandomdojo or @fandomdojo-illustrates.  
> See you in the next chapter!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so, the reason for me not updating was that my dumb Microsoft subscription had ended and I didn't know how to tell my dad I needed to renew before my classes start just so I could write fanfiction.  
> I did mention this on my Tumblr and someone suggested a programme that opens word docs so that is the reason I was able to finish this now.  
> But anyways I figured it out and finished the chapter!  
> Sorry again for the wait and enjoy :).

It didn't take long for her post to blow up with notifications, she was a well known person after all. But she didn't bother to check what sort of response her dumb post received. She was more interested in what she would say to the people that were definitely going to be entering the room soon. To say that Lena was angry would be an understatement, Lena was absolutely livid. She's been waiting for this confrontation for a long time now, Kara is obviously not planning to tell her about her secret any time soon, Lena was tired of waiting. She's tired of being taken for a fool by the blonde and by the others.

She wanted to scream at Kara the moment she steps into the room. She wanted to take the phone that laid by her side and throw it at the blonde's face and knowing that it wouldn't even hurt her frustrated Lena even more.

The anger's been there for a while now, Lena learned to get a good grip on her emotions but she couldn't help it when this rage would seep into her thoughts. It made her think things that she would usually shudder at, it made her say things that she would normally never dream of saying. And it made her want to do things she would recoil at the mention of.

Her dull eyes flitted to the small device in her hand, fingers unconsciously clenching around it. She could make another post. She could easily ruin Kara's life with the press of a button. Sending a tweet for everyone to see that Kara Danvers is Supergirl would ensure that the blonde's life would be over as both persona's. The thought brought a sinister feeling of satisfaction to the brunette as she felt her stomach drop when her finger moved to unlock the phone.

Lena feared what she's starting to become.

Her hand shook as she typed a message to Jess, telling her to come pick her up. Lena didn't want to stay here anymore. Lena dropped the phone and took a deep breath before pushing herself to her elbows. The sharp pain in her upper body made her body tremble. Her arms shook and threatened to give out under her weight. She managed to pull herself to her side, but the pain only intensified and so did her heart rate. The others would surely come if they heard the insistent beeping, so Lena reached out to the wires connected to her body and ripped them out, rendering the machines next to the bed silent.

She now sat at the edge of the bed, her bare feet shying away from the cold tiled floor under them but Lena ignored the chill she felt in her skin and pushed herself to stand. She didn't take into account her body's weakened state or the numbness that came with lying still for days. Lena cursed in her mind as her legs crumbled beneath her body and she fell to her knees gasping for breath.

The door burst open and Lena ignored the shocked exclamations and the concerned shouts of her name and reached out weakly to grasp at something to help her up. Her hands touched a cold metal rod and her fingers wrapped around it tightly. The way it moved with her hand made her look up to inspect what she holds and she found her trident, propped on the wall next to the medical bed she used to occupy.

"Lena, what are you doing?!" Supergirl said as she reached to help Lena up. The blonde's mouth fell open when her hands were slapped away harshly while her gaze was met with Lena's raged face. "… Lena?"

Lena's expression immediately turned stone cold. "Get out."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Lena, you're hurt. Let us help." She took a step forward.

"I said get out!" Lena yelled. "Get out!"

Kara's lips trembled and she hesitantly reached out once more. "Lena, please. Why are you acting like this?"

Lena dryly chuckled before scoffing. Her hardened gaze met Supergirl's worried blues and she glared once more. "Were you ever going to tell me who you were, Kara?" Lena watched as both sister's eyes widened fearfully in surprise at the question. A heavy pause fell upon the room, where Lena waited for one of them to at least have the dignity and admit it.

"I- I can explain." Kara stuttered helplessly.

"It isn't what you think, Lena." Alex said with a sigh, she knew this conversation would come eventually. Kara was always hesitant about telling Lena her secret, even if Alex were encouraging her to do it now rather than warn her about it, The blonde would try to come clean but would chicken out last minute. And now that Lena was not always accessible as before made this even harder than it should be.

"NO!" Lena yelled again. Her hands tightly holding onto the handle of the trident, shakily trying to regain her footing. "No, you had the chance to explain for three years, Kara!" Alex could see how much strain the girl's effort at stabilizing herself. Beads of sweat gathered a the Luthor's forehead. "Three fucking years, Kara! Was I that untrustworthy to you? Am I still that untrustworthy?"

Tears started gathering at the corner of Kara's eyes. Oh Rao, she fucked up. She fucked up so bad. Lena will never forgive her now. She should've been the one to tell Lena. She should've told her ages ago. "Lena, no. Please, I meant to tell you-" She pleaded for Lena to understand.

"When?" Lena cutoff. "When I confront you about it myself? I've waited too long for you to tell me." She snarled with shaking shoulders. "Yet you never did. And I understand why."

"It isn't Kara's fault, Lena." Alex said with a deep frown. "She's always wanted to tell you."

"Yet she told Nia and Brainy before she told me." Lena scowled. "People who she literally met less than a year ago." She turned her head to look at the speechless blonde in the face. "Guess they deserved to know more than your bestfriend did huh?" She taunted. The same sinister feeling of satisfaction came back as she saw a single tear run down Kara's cheek. She couldn't stop herself, she continued. "Did you laugh at me behind my back, Kara?" She called. "Did you gloat with the others at the fact that you managed to trick a Luthor?"

"Lena, stop." Alex said firmly. "That's not the truth and you know that."

"It's not? Then what is the truth, Director?"

Alex rubbed her eyes tiredly and trailed it down her face. "I'm sorry." She spoke. "For so long, I was the reason Kara held back from telling you who she was." The DEO had holds over who Kara was allowed to tell her secret to, having NDA's for that specific reason. Although Lena wasn't someone who strictly shouldn't know, Alex discouraged Kara from telling her for a long time. "I didn't know you back then and I couldn't trust you."

"Seems like that hadn't changed." Lena said as she finally managed to stand, leaning heavily on the item that put her in this state. She stated. "You still don't trust me." She paused, taking a deep breath before sliding the hilt of the trident across the floor and taking a shaky step after it. "But that's fine. You won't have to worry about me or my crazy family ever again."

The last line managed to pull Kara out of her distressed state, enough for her to quietly ask. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Goodbye, Kara."

The blonde remained frozen as Lena attempted to walk past her. Tears now flowed freely down the hero's cheeks, she didn't know what to do or what to say to stop Lena from leaving. She couldn't even get herself to stop crying to look back at the CEO. Alex moved in time to grab Lena's arm in a firm grip, gentle enough not to hurt but tight enough that she can't leave. "Where do you think you're going? You're hurt, you haven't healed yet. You can't just walk out of here."

"Watch me." Lena snatched her arm back, ignoring the sting it brought with it. "And I'm taking Lutessa with me."

Alex rounded at Lena with a startled expression. "You can't simply take a prisoner out of the facility!"

"As far as I know, She hasn't done anything that authorizes the DEO to keep her here in the first place."

"She almost killed you! She did kill you!"

"I'm alive and not pressing charges." Lena rolled her eyes. As if it was the first time a family member has tried to kill her. "She isn't an alien nor a criminal yet, there's literally no reason for her to be kept here." Alex looked at Lena helplessly. "And if you try to stop me from taking her, I assure you director, the DEO will pay dearly for it." The sisters watched Lena walk off with equally lost expressions.

Lena walked stiffly outside the infirmary and on her way to the holding cells, she picked up in a ruckus by the entrance of the DEO. She watched from a distance as Jess tried to fight her way through the guards and into the building. The secretary looking beyond pissed off at the holdup and angrily muttering to herself.

Jess looked around for her boss and perked up at seeing the CEO at the very end of the long hallway, she picked up her pace to reach Lena as soon as she could. Lena was grateful that Jess came as soon as she did, she didn't know how long she'd be able to hold up on her own. And she was also grateful that Jess thought ahead and brought her a change of clothes, the gown she was wearing did nothing other than embarrass her for being in it.

"Jess, help me find a wheelchair." Lena said. Finding one wasn't hard at all, but Jess was confused when Lena refused to sit in it when they did find one. "It's not for me." Lena brushed off as she kept walking, her assistant not too far behind. They walked by the cells one by one, stopping at the one where Lutessa was laid on the bed with medical equipment around her. "It's for her."

"Who is that, Miss Luthor?" Jess asked.

"My sister." Lena simply said as she unlocked the door by using the pad next to it. She stepped inside, the cell was very bright and surprisingly sanitized, she supposed they couldn't risk their prisoner dying from the cell's poor conditions so they cleaned it.

The blonde inside tensed as someone entered, but she kept her gaze up at the ceiling, still refusing to acknowledge anyone who wanted to get information out of her. "Get up." She heard and her eyes widened at the voice. She could swear that Lena had died in front of her. She cranked her neck to the side to see Lena looking down at her with a snarl as Jess hurried inside to place the wheelchair next to the bed. "You wanted to be a Luthor, you'll be a Luthor."

…

Tess sat uncomfortably still in the car Jess had arranged to wait for them outside. Lena was leaning heavily against the seat next to Tess, her eyes closed with a stressed look on her face. Thankfully, she was offered painkillers by Jess who was on the other side of the blonde."Where are you taking me?" She finally asked.

Lena stayed silent for a couple of minutes before cracking an eye open. "To visit someone."

"Who?" Tess raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see." Lena closed her eye again and sighed.

They arrived at their destination and Tess was even more confused when the vehicle stopped in front of a high security prison. "Are you turning me in?" Tess asked, a hint of accusation in her tone.

"No. Just shut up and come with me." Lena rolled her eyes and left the car.

Lena knew that before she did or said anything to Tess, she'd have to gain a bit of her trust first. She did work for Lex, after all. And she knew that if they would ever get a chance to trust each other, she'd have to show her that she wasn't her enemy. But why would she even want to trust the person who quite literally stabbed her in the back and managed to kill her? Lena smiled bitterly, because that blade hurts less than every other stab she received from whom she trusted. Tess didn't attack her to truly hurt her, she attacked her because she didn't want to be hurt instead. And Lena knew that feeling all too well.

So, the first thing she did after entering the building with the blonde, was lead the blonde to a lone cell door at the end of a dark hallway. She stood next to it and gestured for the blonde to enter alone. "I'll be out here if you need me." She told her.

She watched as Tess wheeled herself in, taking in the limited surroundings before her gaze fell on a table with two chairs in the middle. A woman sitting there with her back to her and a neat chess board in front of her. Lena kept her eyes fixed on the younger blonde, curious to see how this would play out.

"took you long enough to get here, Lena dear." Lillian kept her gaze on the chess board, waiting for her daughter to come into her vision.

Lena saw Tess hesitate, and she wanted to tell her it's okay, but that wasn't needed apparently. Tess finally summoned the courage to move herself to the other side of the table. Lena couldn't see Lillian's face but she knew that the expression wasn't one she was ever allowed to see. A startled and dumbfounded expression, she guessed, which was proved right when Lillian abruptly stood up.

The two blondes had a silent moment of understanding as they took in each other's faces. Lena watched with a sad smile as Lillian didn't hesitate to round the table and to fall into her daughter with her arms locked around her. Lena was struck with a pang of jealousy at the sight, Lillian never did and never would do this to her. Not even when she literally was about to die but she had no problem doing this to a literal stranger, she didn't know who this girl was, yet she knew. And she let go of her pride to embrace her.

Two pairs of green eyes met and a silent conversation was held. Lena wasn't going to barge in on the two women, it was a sweet reunion, Lena had hers and she wasn't about to take Tess' away.

"You'll be a Luthor." Lena said with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay at the reunion or Nay at the argument at the DEO?  
> Happy(?) news is, the story is wrapping up in a few chapters and I'll get to start planning part 2.  
> Tell me what you thought about the chapter and I'll see you in the next one :D.
> 
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the equivalent of 3 chapters in 1 and I can't believe i finished it before I start classes next week.   
> As you can see by the chapter count, there will be one more chapter after this before this story is officially done and then I'll have to start planning the sequel. If you've been reading along from the beginning and probably don't remember, part 2 will be about a vigilante Lena.   
> I tried to make this chapter as epic as I could but I didn't edit or proofread it, even for typos. Enjoy :D!

A bright monitor screen lit Lena's dark lab, all lights were off and Lena sat slumped back on her chair with a dark and broody expression. She's been here for a few hours, quietly fiddling with a communication device she was given back in Atlantis. She wanted to call home and vent to her mother, to her family, about how unfair life is, but her pride was too great to even let her consider it.

There was also the fact that her brothers were quite protective, if not a bit irrational. She knew about the events that happened to them almost ten years ago, how Orm wanted to wage war on the surface for simply being the selfish bastards that they are and poisoning the ocean with their garbage. The only thing stopping him was Arthur taking the throne and leaving the surface in peace because he had considered it his home back then.

But now, Arthur lives under the sea. Atlantis is his home now. And there wouldn't be anyone to stop neither of her brothers from waging a war on the surface when someone had attempted to murder their sister, yet again. This time actually succeeding.

She's been avoiding going out in public too now, the media had gone haywire after her post to Lex's deactivated account and she couldn't go out without being bombarded with cameras or reporters and frankly, her mental state wasn't as stable as it once was. She was sure she'd probably snap at someone sooner or later and that would only generate more problems for her and Lcorp.

Speaking of Lcorp, she admittedly has been a bad CEO as of late, barely going to work or joining board meetings, she hasn't even signed any papers in the last two weeks of her absence. Sam had called after she and Tess finished visiting Lillian. Or rather, Tess visiting Lillian. Lena spent the entire visit outside, letting the mother and daughter reunite, taking their time to hold each other and speak tearfully. Lena was told to take her time in her recovery, Sam was more than capable of running the company for as long as she needed. But Lena didn't feel like that was quite right.

Tess had also shown great interest in Lcorp, she supposed that was because she felt like it should've been her company for so long. So, she let her roam around the company with an actual pass this time. Sam had been apparently happy to tell her all about the company's vision and how some of the work is done around it.

Maybe Tess wouldn't be a bad CEO, or maybe a CFO like Sam. She was definitely smart enough to be one, she is a Luthor after all. But that doesn't mean Lena was willing to hand over the company she worked so hard on.

Other than work related things, Lena pretty much had no social life other than being down in her lab which she also didn't do much in. She was too busy trying to find Lex, who had mysteriously disappeared the night she tweeted his account. Lena was pretty sure he's hiding now that he knows she's alive and would be coming after him.

All ties she had with the Danvers' and the 'Super friends' as she liked to call them, were severed. She made sure none of them would ever get to reach her. Kara's free access to her office had also been turned to an immediate blacklist which wouldn't even allow her to enter the building.

So, all in all, Lena's life sucked right now. And she was aware of it.

Fiddling with the switch of the device in her hand, Lena turned it on and placed it on the table in front of her. She didn't have to wait long to get a response. Arthur's face coming into the screen as he looked to be fiddling with something off to the side. Lena smiled as she waited patiently for him to realize that the call had started.

"It's on, Arthur." A feminine voice said from the side, she recognized it as Mera's. Hearing his wife made the blonde man snap his eyes to the center of the device where he could see Lena's face in the screen.

"Hey." She said lightly.

"Lena!" He replied brightly. "How have you been?! You haven't called or visited in so long!"

"I've been… fine mostly." She said with an awkward smile. She was aware of how terrible she looked, pale face with dark bags underneath her eyes. Her hair's a mess and she was wearing crumbled clothing.

"Really?" He asked in amusement and said bluntly. "You look like shit."

That surprisingly brought a smile to her face. "Yeah. I feel like shit too." She admitted.

His playful expression turned into concern. "Lena, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"What does fine mean?"

"It means I am perfectly content but also wouldn't mind if the sun exploded right now and killed us all." She said with a neutral face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Arthur asked with wide eyes. That was not an answer he expected.

"Yes, I am." She nodded. "This is probably how everyone feels after they stay in a hospital for about two weeks."

"You were injured?!" Arthur's voice raised. "By whom?!"

"I wasn't injured. I was lightly stabbed."

"I'm sorry, you were stabbed?" Arthur asked in complete shock.

Lena flinched at the tone. Dammit, she should have kept that part to herself. "Lightly stabbed." She lied with an awkward smile and hoped he'd buy it. "I didn't want to frighten you."

"Didn't want to frighten me-" He said in shock, "Do you not fear for your life?"

"Not really." She said with a tight lipped smile. "I've already lived longer than I expected."

"Lena, what the fuck?" Arthur asked in exasperation. "Who is doing this to you? Do you need me to send you some guards to keep you safe?"

"No, no!" Lena said quickly. "I promise, I'm fine." She knew he wasn't convinced so she added. "I actually need to ask something of you."

"Anything."

"Can you call for Vulko?" She asked. "I need to speak to him."

"Uh, sure." He replied in confusion, putting the device down and calling a servant to call Vulko into the throne room. Lena sat back and patiently waited for her brother to come back on screen and took the time to think about how she would word her request to Vulko.

She could hear Arthur's voice in the background, quietly talking to his wife as they waited. She'd been wanting to ask him something that continued to irk her the more she tried to ignore it. "Arthur?"

The blonde man came back into view. "Yes?"

"How exactly do you speak to sea creatures?" She asked.

"Well, it's more of a mind link than an actual conversation." He started but paused. "Why the sudden interest? Do you think you spoke to a sea creature?"

Lena hesitated. She wasn't sure what those voices were back when she was stuck underwater. Her thoughts were elsewhere at the time but she could hear things, repeated constantly. For a while, she thought it might've been Arthur, that he somehow figured out what happened. Or rather, the fish in that area told him. His clueless question meant that, no, it wasn't Arthur. But who would tell her to stay alive at a time where she wanted to do anything but that?

"It's just that-" She inhaled nervously. She wanted to tell him about it but how could she do it without mentioning the circumstances in which it occurred? "I spent a bit of time in a large body of water, and I started hearing distant voices. They would repeat the same things, they sounded erratic and they would sound near for a second and then get further." She explained. "I- I wasn't sure what else it could be."

Arthur smiled proudly. "Sounds to me like you've spoken to the creatures of the sea for the first time." He praised. "What did they tell you?"

Not to let herself die. "Encouraging words."

"Well, the pattern of speech could've been from the type of species you talked to." He thought out loud. "Some creatures are more intelligent than others, I had a full conversation with the Karathen while I can't really communicate with some fish like Piranha's because their nature is simply too vicious And they rely on their instincts rather than think" He told her.

That made sense, she supposed. But what kind of creature would be smart enough to speak to her and tell her to stay alive or to save this world? What kind of creature was the Karathen?

"Does that help?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes, it helps plenty."

"Great, Vulko has arrived." Arthur announced and disappeared from view as he handed the device over to Vulko, the dark haired man greeted Lena with a thoughtful look as he scanned her face. He moved away to a more secluded spot, sensing that the girl had private matters to discuss with him.

"What's troubling you, Lena?" He asked softly.

Lena hesitated, her features sunk and she suddenly looked more lost and tired than she's ever been. She took a deep breath and he couldn't see the hand that clutched at her chest as she quietly struggled to inhale. "I need your help." She said with a shaky exhale.

Vulko's eyes narrowed in concern, his eyebrows furrowing. "Are you hurt?"

A single drop of sweat ran down Lena's temple, she clenched her eyes and tightened the grip of her hand. "Yes."

"I will be coming right away, princess." He stated. The background behind him was unstable, he was already walking to the door.

"Wait!" She called out. "Don't tell anyone. Please."

"Lena, they must know." He looked back at her firmly.

"No, I'll tell them myself." She promised. "But not now. Now, I need you to help me."

She could see Vulko considering what she said, and after a few minutes of thinking, he finally agreed and cut the call after he told her he'll come as soon as he can and that he'll meet her at the beach house. It would take hours for him to reach National City, or maybe half a day but Lena wasn't exactly in prime physical shape so, she thought it would be best if she headed there now.

Standing up from her chair was a pain, as was every other action that required moving her body. Her stab wounds hadn't completely healed, they were still raw and in danger of reopening at any given time should Lena exert herself too much. It's happened once so far, and Lena couldn't be more grateful that Vulko had taught her about healing. She was sure she would have bled out on the floor of her bathroom and died last night.

Soothing the wounds on her chest wasn't a hard task, Lena would simply gather some water and cover her hand with it to place it on herself to take care of them but the wounds on her back were a complete nightmare. Lena's body had been so stiff from barely moving due to the pain and there was no way in hell she'd be able to reach her back or between her shoulder blades alone. She needed someone she trusted to do it for her or Lena would probably succumb to the pain.

The reason she called for Vulko wasn't really to help herself though. She just needed him to come over as fast as he could and she knew bringing up her injuries would make him hurry.

Lena exited her private elevator and Jess had immediately caught sight of her and walked over. She held her iPad in her arms and looked at Lena in concern as she leaned on the wall to rest briefly. "How are you doing, Miss Luthor, do you need me to do something for you?" She asked.

"No, Jess." Lena shook her head. "I'm fine, I just need a bit of rest."

"Are you sure? You look tired."

"Yes. I just have a headache that comes and goes." Lena waved off. And just as Lena finished saying her excuse, Tess had entered the building through the front doors and wheeled herself in. "Oh look, here it comes." Lena joked dryly.

Jess shook her head at her boss but couldn't stop a small smile from lifting the corners of her mouth. "How well are you two getting along?" she asked quietly.

"Surprisingly well." Lena admitted. And it was true, Lena was aware of the life Tess used to have before Lex found her, it wasn't the most pleasant admittedly. So, Lena took it upon herself to make Tess feel like a Luthor like she'd always wanted to be. She took her to her apartment and told her that she'd be living there with Lena while things calmed down. She arranged for Tess to see Lillian everyday for as long as she liked to show her that she genuinely cared, and to show her that she was never meant to be replaced.

In fact, Tess was just coming back from another visit.

Jealousy wasn't a thing Lena experienced often, but to see Tess receiving all the love and validation she'd been denied of all her life, it awoke another surge of nasty emotions in her. The blonde told her that Lillian wanted to see her and asked Tess to drag Lena along next time but Lena always used the same excuse of 'not feeling well enough to go'. Lena would give Tess a pointed stare, as if to say 'don't argue, you did this' and Tess would just roll her eyes and go visit Lillian alone. She wanted to go. She really did. But she felt like she'd be nothing but an awkward outsider.

And now as Tess got closer to the two, Lena was reminded of the actual reason She had asked Vulko to come to the surface. It was wheeling itself closer to Lena and Jess. Lena wanted Vulko to examine Tess' legs to see if she'd ever be able to walk without the drug Lex used to give her. If she was able to do it using that, then a real method of treatment would surely work, right?

"I'll be taking her with me for the day, please tell Sam so she wouldn't be waiting for Tess today." Lena said and pushed herself off the wall and pressed the down button on the elevator pad. "We won't be taking long though, hopefully."

"Of course, Miss Luthor, anything else?" Jess replied.

"Prepare the documents I told you about and leave them on my desk."

The secretary excused herself and Lena gestured for her sister to hurry up and enter the elevator with her. Choosing the button for her personal garage, the two descended down to their destination in silence. Lena was too tired to talk and Tess simply felt awkward when Lena did these things. Being kind to her even though the blonde had done nothing but be a source of pain. They got in a car with Lena's go-to driver, both still sitting in silence, and were driven to Lena's beach house. Tess was still unaware of Lena's true heritage and Lena didn't see a need to explain yet.

"I'm sorry." Tess said after a few minutes into the ride. Lena noted that her hands were held tightly in her lap, her shoulders looked tense and she kept her gaze down and away from Lena's.

"What for?"

"For attacking and actually killing you." The blonde replied. "For being the reason that you're not seeing mom anymore."

Lena's tired eyes softened and she moved her hand to rest it on Tess', she felt the way the hands tightened under hers and she smiled sadly. "Listen, Lillian and I never had the best relationship." Lena waited for Tess to look up and meet her gaze. "Me not going with you to visit her isn't your fault. I'm just trying to give you some time to get to know each other, you have a whole 24 years to catch up on."

"She's asking for you."

That made Lena pause. Why did Lillian want her to come along? She has her daughter back. Lena assumed that she'd simply go back to her old ways with Lena because she now has a new golden child that isn't out to kill her yet. "I can't get distracted yet, I need to find Lex." Lena's eyes hardened. "Do you know where he is?"

"No. Last time I heard from him was when I've stabbed you." Tess shook her head bitterly, the bastard had betrayed her and left her for dead that day.

"Where did you two use to meet?"

"At the apartment that I used to live in." Tess shrugged. "Though I doubt he's there, someone has already moved to live there since I'm now living with you."

Lena sighed in annoyance. Damn you, Lex. She rubbed her eyes and slumped her head back on the seat in exasperation. Where could he be? He can't simply vanish. Lena looked back at Tess. "Listen, I know you feel bad for what happened but don't, okay? This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last time someone in our family almost kills me." Lena stated flatly. "The thing with our family is, if you don't really die, then it wasn't that bad." She sensed that her words only served to make things worse, so Lena awkwardly announced that they arrived and left the car, going to the other side to help Tess into her chair.

Moving through the sand in a wheelchair was difficult but manageable. Lena did her best to push the chair forward while Tess moved the wheels with her hands. They eventually got to the front door, and Lena fiddled with the keys.

"You never did tell me why we're here." Tess commented. "Can't you do that faster?" Tess looked away in annoyance at the dirty look Lena gave her.

Once the door was unlocked, Lena strode forward and reached for the light switch, unaware of the presence that sat on an arm chair, observing. The lights turned on and Lex found it as his cue to stand up and announce his presence. Lena had her back to him but Tess was just entering. Her surprised gasp was enough for Lena to notice something wrong.

"Well, well, would you look at this." Lex started, looking between the two girls. "A family reunion at last."

"What are you doing here?!" Lena's enraged voice asked as he walked.

"What? You're not happy to see me?" He asked. "After all these years, I thought I'd be getting a warmer greeting."

"You broke into my house!" Lena yelled. "You sent our sister to kill me and were about to kill our mother." She looked at him in disbelief. "What kind of greeting were you expecting?"

"Not this one, for sure." He replied sarcastically before turning to Tess. "Oh and I see you still haven't finished the job.

"You lied to me, you sick bastard!" Tess yelled, if she could walk she would have already slapped his annoying smirk off his face. "You left me there to die!"

Lex sighed dramatically in annoyance. "Yes, because I knew you won't be able to do the job." He pointed briefly at Lena and said. "This one's like a cockroach. I try and I try and she just never stays dead." He pretended to be exhausted before he bounced back into his previous attitude. "So, I came here to finish your job!"

Lena had enough of this bullshit. "Get out of my house, Lex!" She said threateningly.

"Or else what?" He scoffed and walked forward and around Tess' chair, the girl tensed but otherwise stayed motionless as to not show her fear. "You see, you can yell and threaten all you want but I will still do what I want regardless." He then proceeded to grip the handles of the chair and pull it back with him out of the house.

Eyes widening at the bold move in front of her, Lena's jaw tightened and she was about to run after him when she was suddenly struck with a sharp sting of pain. Her knees buckled and she tried so hard to even her breathing so she'd regain some composure.

By the time she was outside, Lex had already threw the chair aside and had Tess at her knees by his side.

A flash went by Lena's eyes as she remembered this scene in explicit detail. Her face flushed and goosebumps spread over her skin as the events unfolded in slow motion in front of her eyes. Lex reaching into a pocket in his coat. Tess looking at her desperately as tears filled her eyes. Lena's eyes twitched and her body slumped onto the door frame.

No, this wasn't supposed to happen, she thought desperately. I was supposed to save her, I was supposed to keep her safe, Lena's hands shook as she lifted it in Lex's direction. No, this will not happen.

The hand was just about to clench shut. Lena swore that she will not use this method ever again. Yet here she was, a promise broken as she prepared herself to resort to an unspeakable method to stop her brother.

Surprisingly, Lex's hand did not retrieve a gun as she predicted. Instead, a mechanical glove that he quickly pointed at her. Shooting sharp projectiles out of its palm. And Lena couldn't stop them from pinning her to the surface behind her. She let out a loud, pained gasp. He had Atlantean metal?! Her palm, her shoulders and elbows were pierced with dark rods of metal.

"Now that you can't interfere anymore, I can finally finish what I came here for." Lex sneered as he turned to the blonde at his feet.

"Lena!" Tess screamed as he advanced on her, She recoiled as the bald man reached down to touch her. "Lena, please! Do something!"

"Yes, Lena. Do something." He mocked as he looked at her with a pout. "Won't you help her?"

She was helplessly watching as he vision came true before her eyes while she was unable to do anything. "I failed." She whispered. "No, please. Stop." Her voice quivered.

"I don't think so-!"

It was all suddenly a blur, a blue and red streak slammed down into the ground and advanced on her brother. Lena's eyes was fixated on the scene as a feeling of utter horror washed over her when Lex's mech glove suddenly grew a sickly green, radiating blade.

"NO!" Lena screamed. But it was too late.

The blonde slumped onto the ground, the blade snapped off and stuck into her abdomen and Lena lost sight of her surroundings.

"Never interfere with things that you have no business with, trash." Lex watched smugly as the filthy Kryptonian fell to her knees before him. She thought that she could descend down on them and be the hero? Well, how wrong could she be? Now she can suffer just like everyone else. He was unaware of the quickly approaching body that headed his way, only noticing when it slammed into him and sent him back into the shallow waves of the beach.

Punches came fast and hard on his face, and Lex struggled to throw them off. Lena was no longer aware of her actions and she felt no remorse as she threw her arms down violently, unaware of the rapidly opening wounds on her body.

The water started to rise around the two, and Lex felt a pinch of fear as it surrounded the two. He summoned all of his strength to push Lena's body off of his and he immediately rolled and rose to his feet. Aware of the killer gaze as it followed him and was rapidly following his moves.

Pressing the buttons on his glove's pad, Lex revealed his new Lexo suit and flew a few feet into the air. He smirked triumphantly and looked down at the angry woman below. His celebration was short lived as Lena threw an arm in his direction and guided a thick stream along, the water hitting him and faltering the suit. Throwing him down and further back. Lena ran after him, her body numb to the pain but senses frantically high. The soles of her feet dug into the water's surface but never broke it, keeping a high concentration dense area of water beneath it with every step she took.

Lex managed to suspend himself just above the water's surface. His arms spread to keep himself balanced. A hard and violent punched slammed into his stomach, successfully breaking through the material of the Lexo suit and digging into Lex's stomach. The taste of copper instantly filled his mouth.

But Lena continued her attack. Three more fast punches that left Lex wheezing for breath before she ducked low and snapped her leg for a sharp kick to his jaw.

The blow threw him back even further and Lex tried really hard to soothe the pain by clutching at his face but it proves useless due to the suit's helmet between his hands and his face. The action lost him time to react and as he lifted his head to prepare for Lena's next attack, she was gone. He looks left and right frantically and neglects to look up as Lena descended on him with yet, another fatal blow from above to the head threw him down below the water.

The water took a minute to fill the trail of Lex's body. Lena released her hold on the water below her to allow it to swallow her after Lex. Her brother was now in her turf and he will not leave it unscathed.

Back at the beach, Tess managed to crawl to the fallen Kryptonian and take the blade out and throw away. Far enough for Supergirl to not feel any major effects. She patted her cheeks repeatedly to wake her up. "Hey! Wake up!" Tess pulled her arm back and delivered a loud slap to Kara's cheek. Blue eyes snapped open and drowsily started closing again. "No, don't you close your eyes. Do you have an emergency button hidden somewhere on your suit?!"

Kara weakly tapped at her family's crest and Tess understood that she wanted her to press a button there. "You better not die on me, you understand?" Tess threatened while she waited next to the bleeding body.

Pressing on the wound and applying pressure is one of the basic techniques to slow down bleeding, right? Tess thought to her self as she gathered a fistful of the hero's cape and covered the slowly healing wound. "Why aren't you healing? The sun should fix you!" Tess gritted her teeth. She flinched as a loud swoosh ran past her and a loud sickening crack came from the house's direction. Tess looked behind her as far as she could, only to see Lex's body that has gone through the concrete walls, was now resting above the rubble. Green eyes widened fearfully as she felt a presence slowly approaching from behind.

While the two elder Luthors were in the depths, Lena had used her agile swimming to land quick attacks on Lex's suit and in his panic he had tried to fly his way out of the ocean and into the air. But Lena had jumped after him and delivered a harsh blow to the top of his and just before he fell back down in the water, she had grabbed his foot, and with all her might, flung him into the shore and unfortunately into her mother's beach house.

Lex laid unmoving as Lena advanced slowly from the water. She was aware of the look Tess gave her but she ignored it. Lex was right there and he will not run away this time.

"Enough is enough." Lena grabbed the collar of his suit. "You're coming with me and you're going back to jail where you belong."

Lena paused as Lex coughed. "What would you know about this? It's not like you have anyone who genuinely cared about you." Blood trailed down both edges of his mouth. "I tried to get rid of you, of Mother, of Tess. Because you are only hindering my goal." His bruised eyes glared and Lena was stunned into silence." The attachment serves nothing but weaken you and stray you away. Just look at what has become of you when you found out that the Kryptonian pretender never found you worth trusting." Lex smirked despite his pain. "You lost yourself. And soon enough, you'll become just like me."

He laughed. A sick and twisted laugh that soon was interrupted by a fit of bloody coughing. But Lena stood still as she took the words in. His words struck deep into her soul. She really was letting the darkness that loomed, bleed into her. And soon, it would consume her until nothing is left. She was becoming the very thing she was afraid of.

"You'll never have what you desire, Lena." His hand caught her wrist and squeezed painfully. "And you won't stand in my way any longer." Her grip faltered and he took his chance. Using whatever fuel he has left in his suit to Eject his body from the rubble, pushing Lena along with him to zoom across the sea and into a particularly high cliff and slammed Lena into it. Lena screamed, her eyes widening with a bright golden flash before Lex dropped her into the ocean.

Her body sank once again, Lena found herself trailing blood. Was this it? Would she die now, defeated by Lex and left for dead? Her body floated back up and Lena rested above the surface, her eyes tired and unfocused. Lex was above her, floating in the air as he looked down at her in disgust. Why won't he stop? Why won't the pain stop?

'Save this selfish world'

Lex watched in satisfaction as Lena struggled to keep her eyes open. But his celebration was short lived as the water around the Atlantean moved to bubble around her. Lena's body was lifting off the surface and into a standing pose. Lex was enraged, can't she simply stay dead?

An unexpected punch to the mouth jerked Lex back and Lena grunted in pain as she hunched over. The water steamed, the sound of boiling water reaching her ears as it washed over her face. Lex grasped at the broken edges of his helmet and when he looked back at Lena, there was only a blurry figure, surrounded by steam and the only thing that was visible to him was the bright golden eyes that pierced the fog.

"What is this! What are you?" He yelled.

"I am… " Lena growled. "The monster you made me."

She extended her arm and the water flowed from around her body to grab Lex while he was in the air. The water seeped into suit and expanded, rendering him defenseless before Lena slammed him into an icy platform above the water and freezing his limbs to it. The water spiraled back up, boiling hot and icy rods flowing around it.

Lex closed his eyes in fear as it turned back down in his direction, only for it to fall onto him harmlessly and for Lena to turn away. The water shackles on his body melted away and Lex was stunned. He shuffled to his feet with a growl. "Even with all this power, you're STILL WEAK?!" He reached into his drenched coat and pulled out a gun, quickly pointing at Lena's head.

Sensing the movement of the water below her feet, Lena kicked her leg up just in time to catch his wrist and jerk the bullet away. She rounded his other side and did the same when he tried to take the gun to his other side and shoot but she quickly removed it from his grip.

Lena lowered the pillars that held Lex's hands and brought him to his knees before her. "You are one to blame for what's about to happen." Her eyes hardened and glowed dangerously. "You've made a habit of fucking up my life."

Lex's only response was to seethe in anger at his defeat. Lena pointed the gun at his chest. "And when you die, you'll know why." She cocked it and placed her thumb on the trigger. "For you cannot be saved, you are too depraved." She awaited his response but continued when she received none. "This world will never be truly saved with you in it."

"You're too weak to do it." Lex scoffed.

"What's your alibi?" She asked. Her gaze unwavering.

"You won't do it."

"What's your alibi?"

"You CAN'T do it."

"What's your alibi?" She asked for the third time.

"You'll never be able to do it-" Lex's confident words were interrupted by two bullets shooting directly to his heart. His restraints falling apart and melting instantly as he jerked back from the blow. "You shot me!" His hand laid on the wounds, his breath choppy. "You finally killed me!" He shivered as he lowered himself to the ground. Lena watched silently as his life drained away. "Congratulations, sis. You finally became… A Luthor." He smirked. "You finally became… me."

Lena dropped the gun and fell to her knees. The ice separating her and Lex broke and melted below her brother. His body sank into the depths and disappeared. Lena's shoulders sank and shook, her body curling in on itself as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her choked sobs not heard by anyone other than herself. She cried and cried, letting out a much needed wail as she did so.

Her hands gripped her wet clothed thigh. She didn't break quietly, it was like her last bit of self control had just vanished. All of her physical wounds had healed miraculously, she didn't feel any pain from her back nor her chest. But she gripped at it and screamed, traumatized from the fact that she took a life. Ended someone's existence to satisfy her own. This was no accident, Lena wanted to do this. It was in her blood, and it was bound to happen sooner or later.

How could she ever look down at her hands without seeing the blood of her brother staining them?

When the wracking sobs passed she cried in such a pathetic way that no one could bare to listen for long. She had gone from hanging by a thread to completely hysterical, a transformation she didn't know how to reverse.

And now, she just sat there on the floating, her forehead pressed to the cold surface while she curled in on herself and clutched at her chest. She didn't know how much time had passed before she held herself together, she assumes around 30 minutes since the state of the beach hasn't changed much.

Tess was still there along with Kara, but they had been joined by Alex and a few DEO agents. How would she face anyone now that she's a killer? Turns out that the people of this city were right about her after all.

Lena slowly swam back to the shore and silently walked up to Tess and helped her up to her chair. She ignored what dull throb of pain that remained in her body and pushed the wheelchair back to the car where the driver had been patiently waiting. She wanted to swallow her pride and go check up on Kara, her wound was not light and the girl had come to help them after all. But as Lena reached her hand to Tess, she saw the injured blonde sitting up weakly and lean on her sister's shoulder.

She supposed that her concern was no longer needed. Kara would be okay.

They were supposed to meet Vulko today. But Vulko had taken too long to arrive and now things couldn't be undone. She should just call him and tell him to take his time during the rest of his journey here.

"Take us to our mother, please." Lena said to the driver and he knew that it meant to drive them to the high security prison that housed Lillian. It would only be fair that she be the one to break the news to the woman rather than the media when they caught up. She only didn't know how mother would take the news. Would she be angry at Lena for killing her favorite child or would she be relieved now that she doesn't have to worry about being killed at Lex's hands?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex deserves to die, okay? But Lena did not deserve the trauma that came with killing him.  
> I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the fight scene or at least didn't hate it.   
> Tell me which one scene was your favorite part, mine was probably Tess trying to keep Kara alive. Too bad Vulko didn't make it on time though lol.
> 
> Comment what you thought of this and I'll be back next chapter, it will be the final one.   
> (So sad, I know)
> 
> Tumblr @fandomdojo


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I spent 9 months on this...
> 
> I regret nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the last chapter but Lena WALKED ON WATER (yes I planned this. yes I'm proud of it).  
> So, this is it huh? The last chapter of this story before I move on to part 2. I tried a different method of writing here, I'm not sure how you'll like it but I'd appreciate any feedback since I wanted to include this sort of writing in part 2 and I wanted to know how much people like/dislike it.
> 
> To those who stuck by this story since it was published, thank you. You don't know how much it meant to me seeing you reading and taking time out of your day to comment.  
> But anyway, read and enjoy :).

Before this rising sun, Lena was only a shadow. Yet, as it rays, golden and strong, she wishes the life it emits would bleed a color into her. The life she owns only graying out as time passes and she wishes she could feel as vibrant as the colors that washed over her.

On this morning, the clouds above start to diffuse the daylight to a soft, gentle sweetness. Lena wanted to do nothing other than lay in her bed, under warm blankets and a cozy duvet, and wallow in her misery. But as always, no such thing was allowed. The dead are gone and the living are hungry, she reminded herself.

The remaining members of the Luthor family had headed out of the city to host a private funeral in their mansion for the now deceased Lex. The body was never retrieved from the ocean, so they stood at an empty grave with a false name to avoid defilement. No words were spoken. No respects were paid.

The three of them stood before the headstone, heads down. Maybe it was the only way they knew how to show their respects. Maybe they had their own speeches for him in their heads but Lena had nothing to contribute.

The amount of pain in her eyes must be enormous, to anyone looking. But no. She's happy he's gone. Grateful that he's not returning. For years she's lived with him as the face of her demons. It was never enough for him to put her through hell. It was never enough for him that he's pushed her down to be dragged through the mud for his mistakes. It was never enough for him to leave her cold and damned.

Those were his last words, you finally became me. And Lena cursed herself for letting him get under her skin like that. He broke her, in every way imaginable. She was not the same as yesterday. He had left this world, leaving her cold, crippled and shallow. She stares into the grave, knowing that it's empty, but she wishes he would rise from the dirt so she could bury him in it herself. She wanted him to face the monster she became, the monster he's created.

Perhaps this was the legacy of this family. For everyone to go mad as they slip away from realty and into their insanity. Lena closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, she had already lost her way. It was all a game that she must play. She's won. Because as sure and full of himself as he was, he was defeated after all. But she couldn't find it in herself to feel anything.

A hand touched Lena's shoulder ans she turned to look at her mother, who's been silent ever since the news was delivered to her the morning before. Lena took a brief glance at the blonde before shifting her gaze downward.

When the two sisters arrived to deliver the news to Lillian yesterday, it was the first time Lena had gone to visit the woman ever since she brought Tess back. When they'd left the car, she wondered how she was going to break the news to her that she was the one to kill him. By the time they reached the door, Lena's throat felt tight, a lump forming and threatening to break her resolve the moment she opens her mouth. Her eyes became misty against her will and she tried to blink it away but as soon as Lillian turned around and saw the state her daughters were in, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. And just as she stood up, their eyes met and Lena's remaining strength shattered.

Hysterical sobs shook her frame as she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She hated to be seen like this. She fought so hard to reclaim control over her body, shocked by the sounds escaping from the deep of her chest.

She felt a hand on her cheek, guiding her face to press against a warm chest and a wrinkly shirt. Her silent weeping only served to confuse the woman ever more. Lena's shoulders shook and her hands remained firmly by her side even when she felt arms encircle her body. She could guess by the words spoken that Lillian had looked to Tess for an explanation instead and the only thing she said was. "Lex is dead." Lillian didn't ask any further, understanding that by the reaction Lena was showing, it must've been her to end her son's life. All she could do was hesitantly caress her distraught daughter's head.

But now, Lena had managed to get a grip on herself during what remains of the funeral and waited for her mother to say what she needs.

"I have to go back to my cell." Lillian said with a purse of her lips. "The guards are already waiting."

Lena only hummed in acknowledgment and looked at Tess, jerking her head to the car where two men dressed in suits stood. "Tess will go with you."The girl mentioned only sighed and nodded. She could tell that Tess wanted to have a word with her about what she'd seen at the beach.

The blonde had stayed away from her two older siblings and didn't really manage to see much in their fight. She's been too focused on keeping a wounded Kryptonian alive long enough for help to reach them.

When Lena had ran after Lex, Tess had to find a way to stop the wound from bleeding out. Thankfully, the cape Supergirl wore was sufficient enough for a while but the hero was quickly losing consciousness and Tess had desperately tried to keep her awake.

"How did you know when and where to come?" Tess flinched as the words came out, it sounded demanding and she wasn't trying to seem threatening. "Were you just flying around?"

It took a few minutes of painful squirming before Supergirl managed to form a response. "I sensed Lena's heartbeat getting erratic." She admitted.

"So," Tess asked in amusement. "You flew all the way here because Lena's heart was racing?"

"Yes."

"Wow, you really are hopeless." Tess chuckled and adjusted her grip on the cape.

"She hates me." Kara whimpered with a hiss at the shifting hands on her abdomen.

"Look, she doesn't hate you." Tess said awkwardly, she didn't know and honestly didn't care about this type of drama but she didn't know how to handle a crying person. "She's just through a lot. She's been stressed out for a long time and probably just took out on you."

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Kara teary eyes looked at Tess.

"Honestly? Yeah, you did." Tess said bluntly. "But that doesn't mean she won't forgive you."

Kara's hand moved and grasped Tess' wrist to make sure they had eye contact. "You think she will?"

"I don't know," Tess said uncomfortably, she should've just kept her mouth shut. "Just give her time to cool off." She suggested. "This ass isn't really giving her any breaks and there's only so much one person can take before snapping." She said with a jerk of her head behind them.

As if on cue, Lex came hurling past them and crashed into the beach house, landing with a nasty crack. Did that come from his bones or suit? Tess wasn't sure. She was more focused on the advancing, wet silhouette that made its way to the fallen man. Lena was strangely terrifying like this. She was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of this encounter. They've exchanged a few words before they had taken off again, Tess shook her head and looked back down. Kara wasn't really aware of what happened but she looked more attentive. Oh, yeah, super hearing, Tess thought.

"When will your backup arrive?" She asked to pull her attention away from Lena.

"Should be… soon." Kara swallowed and cringed at the coppery taste in her mouth.

It didn't take long for Alex to arrive with two agents, the two shared a look and Tess didn't like the look on the redhead's face. She just simply shuffled away from the fallen hero and looked behind her for the first time at the sea. It was very foggy from where she is, she could clearly see Lex's suit but Lena was no where to be seen. 'ah, there she is.' Tess thought as a flash of golden eyes pierced the steam. The people surrounding her were busy tending to Supergirl but Tess had seen enough. Lena had killed Lex.

Lena knew she knew. But none of them brought it up, there was no need to bring it up.

As the two blondes started walking away. Lena called out. "Tess." And waited for the girl to look back at her. "I want you to be in my office tonight." She stated. At the nod, Lena looked away and to the headstone once again. She didn't have anything to say, yet she felt as if she'll be never truly able to let go and move on if she didn't say anything. There was plenty of things that Lena wanted to get off her chest but no words came to her. At the time where it counted most, Lena was at a loss for words.

"When this began, I had nothing to say," Lena spoke quietly, mostly muttering to herself. "And now, you've lost to nothingness inside of me." Was he happy now that she's lost what little shreds of innocence she used to have? "And I let it all out only to find, that I'm not the only one with these thoughts in mind." She's lost the only thing that made her whole. "But the vacancy of these actions revealed, that this is truly the only real thing I've got left to feel."

"I'm just stuck." She chuckled humorlessly. "Hollow and alone."

She sighed and leaned her head back to feel the cool breeze on her face. The sun had fully risen and a brand new day awaits. She heard the car drive off in the distance, coming here at this time was the only option they had if they wanted to bring Lillian along.

"Maybe, in a way." Lena said. "You were the one who won. You made me take a life." She spoke to the grave. "Or maybe, it's just in my blood." Everyone in their family had done this one way or another, why would she be any different? She tried to be different but in the end, it didn't even matter. "Goodbye, Lex."

Lena turned around and looked to the side where a man stood waiting, she nodded her head and he started approaching. "Shall we, princess?" Asked Vulko and Lena only sighed and started walking.

…

Some nights, Lena sits facing the giant glass windows in her desk and wishes that she could have a life in the country. Where the responsibility and stress that the city brought would cease. Living in the city meant more people would be up and out at night, walking or driving a car with bright headlights and businesses would lit up their signs. The sky was dark, artificial lights below overpowering the stars. Lena wished that, for once, she could see a full moon and stars littering the sky.

Amber liquid swirled absentmindedly in a glass cup before moving to a pair of deep red lips. The glass stopped midway due to a knock at the door and Lena lowered her hand to wait for an announcement.

"Miss Mercer is here to see you." The door was slightly opened and Jess poked her head in. "Shall I let her in?" At her boss' nod, Jess entered the room and held the door open for the blonde to wheel herself in. "Do you need anything else, Miss Luthor?"

"Currently, no." Lena said and spun her chair to face the two women. "Though I'll be calling you here later. There is something I wish to discuss with you." Lena noticed the shift in her assistant's expression and hurried to reassure here. "Nothing bad, you haven't done anything wrong. I just need to speak to you about something that concerns the company."

"Very well." Jess nodded and stepped back to leave the room. "I'll be available when you need me."

The door closed with a click and Lena shifted her gaze to Tess, who held her hands together in her lap and waiting to be addressed. Lena looked down at her desk and started going through some papers, she threw a simple 'come closer' gesture at Tess. When the wheelchair stopped just in front of the desk, Lena stood up and rounded the desk to stand next to the blonde.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk. "So, you know I called you here for a reason." She stated.

Tess shifted uncertainly. "Have I… done something?"

"No, you haven't." Lena chuckled and shook her head. "I called you here because I have something to tell you. Something important."

"What's that?" Tess asked.

Lena paused and suddenly lost her smile. She took a quick glance at the floor and opened her mouth to reply but closed it as the words suddenly failed her. Tess was still staring at her curiously, wondering what sort of news would require her to come to Lena's office at the top floor. This was the first time she's been here. Lena took a deep breath before lifting her head and meeting Tess' eyes. "I'm leaving."

It took a moment for Tess to actually process the words. "What?!"

"I'm leaving." Lena stated louder. "I'm leaving National City for a while."

"Wh- Why?!" Tess furrowed her eyebrows. "Where will you go?"

"It's too much for me." Lena admitted, she looked back down as she spoke. She wasn't sure how she'd handle any direct eye contact at the moment. The past few days have been heavily emotional. "I don't know how long I can do this."

"But- " Tess started. "What will the media say? What happen to Lcorp-?"

"I've already took care of that." Lena stated calmly. "The new CFO's I've hired to assist sam will be ready to work by tomorrow morning." She assured. "Which leads me to the next thing I wanted to tell you." Lena retrieved the papers she prepared on the desk, slid them over and flipped them so they'd be the correct reading angle. "Take these."

Lena watched Tess reaching for the stack and observed her behavior. She smiled lightly at the look of bewilderment on the blonde's face. She pushed herself off the edge of the desk and moved to stand behind the wheelchair. She rested her hands on the blonde's shaking shoulders.

"I thought it's finally time to officially welcome you into the family." Lena smiled and looked down at the single wet spot on the document. The name 'Lutessa Lena Luthor' in the middle of the page in bold letters. "And now that you're a Luthor," she continued and moved her hands up to the handles of the chair, moving it to perch it right next to her own chair behind the desk. "You can temporarily take my place while I'm absent."

"Why are you doing this?" Tess asked quietly. "Why are you being so nice to me? I killed you."

"Because we're family." Lena shrugged and sat down on her own chair. "And even though you did kill me, I'm still alive -not very well at the moment, that's why I'm taking a break-" she reminded. "But I want to show you that, you don't have to be so guarded around me anymore. I'm your sister now. We can try to fix our family together."

There was a small quiver in Tess' lips before she swallowed. "I'd… really like that." She whispered.

"Great." Lena smiled brightly, for the first time in weeks before raising an eyebrow and smirking. "Now, just because I said you could take my place, it doesn't mean you'll have full control over Lcorp nor will you be CEO."

"Then what am I supposed to be doing?" Tess asked in confusion.

"You have absolutely no experience being a businesswoman, and while I believe that you'll be able to take the responsibility. I'm still not handing over my company to anyone." She clarified. "Jess and Sam will mostly be making all the decisions regarding the company. What you'll be doing is mostly learn from them, you'll have access to my office of course, but I want you to simply be the face of the company."

"The face of the company?" Tess repeated.

"Yes." Lena nodded. "You'll be given all the information you need and you will be the one to speak on behalf of the company in my place." She said. "Can I trust that you'll be able to do that?"

"Um, yeah sure. Of course." Tess looked hesitant. "But, what will I say when people ask about you?"

"Just tell the reporters that I have taken a break, simple as that." Lena shrugged. "Don't give them any more details or they'll start theorizing again and that is the last thing we need."

Tess stayed silent and just listened, she wanted to ask whether or not she'll be allowed to visit their mother now that Lena is gone. Will she have to go back to her apartment now too? She watched Lena retrieve a card from the pocket of her coat and hand it over. "What's that?"

"Your debit card." Lena leaned back. "Every month, a fixed amount of money will be deposited to that card. When I come back and see that you're doing well here, I'll upgrade your card to be like mine."

"Why not now?"

"It's my money." Lena said bluntly. "You're already going to live at my apartment, you can't have all of my possessions."

Honestly, Tess was touched at the thoughtfulness. But Lena was obviously joking so she replied in the same manner. "Can I use your cars then?" She smirked.

"You will absolutely NOT touch my cars." Lena stated. "If I come back and see so much as a scratch on them, you will not like what I do."

"Oh, come on. You won't be using them." Tess argued.

"you can't drive anyway."

"I thought you were going to fix my legs."

"I am. It'll take time and plenty of physical therapy, which I have also arranged." Lena said. "But Vulko says you will be able to walk."

"Then you can teach me to drive." Tess said cheekily and laughed at the look Lena gave her. "Okay, fine! I'm not touching your cars."

"Good." Lena narrowed her eyes before reaching into a drawer in her desk and taking out two items and placing them on Tess' legs. "These are the only ways you can communicate with me while I'm gone." She pointed at the first one and proceeded to tell her to activate the device and then turned to the other and told her that this is only for emergencies. "Hopefully you won't need it, but if you do, simply fill it with water and I'll come as soon as I can."

Tess held the items and traced the designs on them. "When will you come back?" She asked quietly.

Lena sighed. "I really don't know, to be honest."

A moment of silence passed before Lena heard a tentative reply, so quiet she almost didn't hear it. "I'll miss you." Two pairs of green eyes met and Lena surged forward and wrapped her arms around the nervous blonde. It was the first time they've ever hugged, actually, it was the first time they've had any sort of intimate contact. Lena pulled back and squeezed her sister's arms with a sad smile, telling her she'll miss her as well.

They took a moment to compose themselves before Lena had called Jess over. The secretary was shocked to hear that her boss was leaving but agreed when requested to guide Tess while Lena was gone. The dark haired Luthor was momentarily stunned when Jess had tearfully asked for a goodbye hug.

"Please take care of her for me, Jess." Lena whispered after she wrapped her arms around the woman. She smiled when she received a confirmation that she would not be disappointed.

…

Once the goodbyes were shared, Lena went home to take one last look at the life she'll be leaving behind once she sets off to Atlantis. She dug into her closet for the sets of clothes she was given. The black bodysuits were safely tucked in one of her drawers and she pulled them out to set them aside. As she pulled out the last one, a thin box was revealed to be underneath. Lena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before a wave of recognition passed over her.

This was the hero suit Winn had given her before he left for the future.

She opened the box and held the suit in her hands, thumbs tracing the fabric and the design sewed into it. The corner of her lips twitched and curled up. Maybe it was finally time to put this thing to use. The empty box was discarded and the costume joined the clothes she had to her side.

It was definitely time to put it to use.

When it was finally time to head to Atlantis, Lena looked over her company one last time from where she stood at the beach. Only to see a figure floating in the sky heading its direction. Lena sighed, it is time for her to leave, for good. What was going inside her was painful, yet if she didn't take the time to rebuild herself then who will? She was going to a place where she could be surrounded with people who loved her and treated her well. Where she wouldn't be judged and shunned for simply existing. A place where she belongs.

…

Kara landed on the balcony to Lena's office, it was very late at night but the Kryptonian was sure the Luthor was there. The lights to the office were on after all. She came here to finally confront Lena and apologize as she should've weeks ago. She had finally recovered from her exposure to Kryptonite and has immediately put on her suit and flew here.

Her hand reached to tentatively knock at the glass doors, and the girl perked up at seeing the nonchalant hand gesture that peeked out from behind the chair and allowed her in.

"Miss Luthor," Kara cleared her throat. "Can we talk?"

There was a pause, which only served to make Kara more nervous. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt instead of her usual confident pose, hands on hips. Time seemed to go on forever before the chair finally spun, only to reveal that her best friend was not in it. Tess cocked her head to the side and waited for the stunned Supergirl to speak.

In that moment, Kara's face fell. In that instant her skin became grayed, her mouth hung with lips slightly parted and her eyes were as wide as they could stretch. "Where's… Where's Lena?" She stuttered with rapidly blurring sight.

Tess raised an eyebrow and she adjusted herself before breaking the news to the girl of steel who seemed to lost all of invulnerability at that moment. "Lena is no longer in National City." Out of complete silence, a cry rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's so much stuff to ask you about now that this is complete. But I'll leave it up to you to talk about the parts that stuck with you. But I do want to know what you thought about the execution of the flashbacks. Did I do well? Did I not do well?
> 
> That's all I have to say for now, honestly.  
> Now that this story is officially tagged as complete, the first thing I am going to do is go experience it as a reader for the first time.
> 
> If you'd like to be updated on part 2, I'll either speak about it on 'Rebirth' when I update or you can come follow me on Tumblr @fandomdojo. If you have questions I'll also answer them there.
> 
> See you in part 2.


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